RIDERS * USA - Investing in a new set of wheels

Stockton,CA,USA -The Stockton Record, by Zachary K. Johnson -October 12, 2008: -- As the price of gas climbed higher and higher, especially in the last year, so did the number of people getting out of their cars and onto a bus or train... Public transit agencies nationwide reported increases in numbers of riders, and local transit agencies have seen steep growth, too... A pain in the wallet may have compelled people to start using public transportation, but transit officials are hoping that riders will find other reasons to stay out of their cars, even if gas prices continue to fall... Buses are filling up, including the popular Metro Express, or Route 40, that travels between Hammer Lane and the Downtown Transit Center every 15 minutes with limited stops. Popular routes like that can bring in the riders that would make it possible to expand available routes, she said...


* Under-used buses a growing concern in Haverhill. City pays $361,000 annually for service; fewer routes, smaller buses among options being considered

Haverhill,MA,USA-The Eagle Tribune, by Shawn Regan -13 Oct 2008: -- Margie Valentine rides the bus a few times a week from her home downtown to the Westgate Plaza shopping mall and to visit a friend in the Julian Steele apartment complex... Valentine said there's a core group of people she sees on the bus most days, but the number of riders has dwindled in recent years... Valentine's not the only one who has noticed the large Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority buses rumbling through the city with scarcely a passenger aboard... City Councilor, David Hall, said he sees it all the time, and he's doesn't like it... Haverhill will pay $361,000 this year for the local bus service — an amount based on a formula that considers the number of buses and routes in Haverhill as well as the city's size and population, MVRTA Director Joseph Costanzo said... (Photos by Tim Jean -above- A single passenger rides an MVRTA bus through downtown Haverhill on Thursday. City Councilor David Hall says the buses arenÕt used that much and wants to switch to cheaper, more environmentally friendly small buses - Photo -below- A Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority bus drives through downtown Haverhill along Merrimack Street on Thursday)


* Report: Buses better than rail

Haverhill,MA,USA-The Eagle-Tribune, by Terry Date -13 Oct 2008: -- A long-anticipated transit study report recommends using so-called “bus-on-shoulder” travel as the chief means of reducing future congestion on the Manchester-to-Boston corridor... The bus option would be far less expensive than train service to start and operate, according to the report... The draft report for the I-93 Transit Investment Study was presented earlier this month to New Hampshire and Massachusetts transportation officials by a team of consultants led by the Chicago-based HNTB transit planning company... The report’s primary recommendation is to ferry commuters from park-and-ride terminals to Boston in express buses. The buses would travel along a 12-foot-wide breakdown lane at the shoulder of the highway. The lane would be restricted to those buses...