The Central Arkansas Transit Authority's new executive director wants to see ridership on the agency's bus routes this year reach 3 million, a milestone it has exceeded just once in the past 23 years.
It is not on pace to reach that number this year, admitted Jarod Varner, whom the agency board hired less than a year ago.
He took over the agency after the retirement of Betty Wineland, a 25-year CATA employee who had headed the agency since 2007.
CATA operates bus services for partners Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Maumelle and unincorporated portions of Pulaski County in exchange for municipal and county subsidies covering $11.8 million of the transit authority's $15.8 million budget.
"We're optimistic that we can reach that [ridership] goal," Varner said last week. "Statistically, we're not on track, but we are going to take an aggressive approach."
CATA celebrated its 1 millionth passenger of 2014 just last week in a new promotion that netted the lucky rider, Maury Wilson, an iPad mini computer tablet and a month-long bus pass. The 2 millionth rider and -- if the goal is reached -- the 3 millionth rider will receive identical gifts to mark the milestones.
The goal appears attainable. The agency's buses carried more than 2.8 million passengers in the past two years. But CATA will have to reach that number without expanding its bus fleet, routes or hours of service.
And it will have to do it without some of the bells and whistles the agency won't be acquiring until next year.
CATA is spending a $600,000 grant on acquiring and installing a system that will provide real-time information on bus arrivals for riders who have cellphones.
The system also will provide enhanced Web resources for more efficient online customer trip planning. Passengers will have the capability to view exact bus locations, as well as enroll in a subscription-based service-alert system to keep passengers informed about their selected routes.
The project will include WiFi access for passengers aboard CATA buses and hardware at the downtown Travel Center to display bus route arrival and location information.
The agency also is moving ahead with purchasing 15 buses designed to run on compressed natural gas and the construction of a station to fuel them, which together will cost $9.3 million, much of it from federal grants.
Last week, the CATA board approved hiring a consultant to lead a strategic planning effort that will help the wider community consider what the transit system should look like and, more importantly, how to pay for it. That effort is expected to take 10 months and cost $350,000, 80 percent of which is federal money.
In August, it will deploy a stricter version of its passenger code of conduct to more uniformly enforce restrictions on the number of bags carried on a bus, a ban on food and drinks unless they are in spill-proof containers, and a ban on riders who don't have destinations.
At the same time, some route modifications designed to make the system more efficient will go into place.
More and better-designed shelters also are in the agency's plans for some of its 2,000 bus stops.
Until then, Varner and his staff want to rely on marketing to reach people who haven't considered using the transit system but may be open to the possibility, whether it is to save money or help the environment. Hence, the promotion making all riders eligible to win the iPad and bus pass.
"We want to show our passengers how much they are appreciated by continuing to listen, improve our services and celebrate our achievements throughout the year," Varner said.
One has to go all the way back to 2000 to find ridership above 3 million. A total of 3,073,187 people hopped aboard a CATA bus that year.
Varner said he thinks that year might be an anomaly since the years immediately preceding and succeeding 2000 saw ridership barely top 2.7 million.
The 3 million goal is slightly more than the population of Arkansas, which is 2,959,373, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimate.
"People may not be aware of how many people we serve," said Jason Smedley, the public engagement director for CATA. "That's the same as every person in the state riding Central Arkansas Transit."
If the goal of 3 million passengers isn't reached, just getting that number in the minds of the broader public is an important step, said Varner, who noted that the promotion generated some positive and free media through television news accounts.
"CATA is a well-kept secret," Varner said.
Metro on 05/26/2014