Ridership at the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, also known as The Ride, has drastically decreased during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ride has seen a 90% decrease in ridership. Mary Boonin is the community relations manager for The Ride and says residents are only using the bus for essential rides during the “Stay Home. Stay Safe.” executive order issued by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
"When on a regular average weekday, we had 22,000-24,000 rides. We’re now at about 2,000 rides"
The Ride also stopped collecting fare on March 18th as a way to protect drivers from making contact with riders. That represents about $600,000 in revenue loss a month. Boonin says they have the option of using reserve funds to address budget issues.
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— Jorge Avellan is a reporter for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him javellan@emich.edu
