Demand for public transportation in Washtenaw County is starting to return to its pre-pandemic levels.
The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, also known as The Ride, is reporting its ridership figures are now at roughly 70 percent of what they were in 2019.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to roughly 11 percent of their pre-pandemic numbers.
The Ride’s Senior Project Manager, Gretchen Johnson, says to accommodate the rising demand, they’re making multiple service adjustments to their bus routes on January 22.
“This time around, there’s a lot of these, and that’s somewhat of a result of how fast things are changing from the pandemic, and changes to travel patterns in the community."
Johnson says she thinks the recent rise in demand could have something to do with the return of university students this fall.
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