Transit officials say People Mover ridership saw significant increases in 2019

It's been about two years since the Municipality of Anchorage launched an overhaul of its People Mover bus system, and transit officials say ridership is on the rise.

Anchorage Public Transportation officials say People Mover usage increased every month in 2019 over 2018, with ridership growing 5.7%. It's the biggest increase they say they've seen in a decade.

Planning Manager Bart Rudolph says one of the focal changes that impacted ridership was a shift from covering a larger span of the city, to focusing on serving areas where ridership is more concentrated-- with more frequent bus service.

"So we put a lot of service where the most people are living and working in the most dense parts of town where buses are coming every 15 minutes," said Rudolph. "You don't need a schedule to catch a bus that comes every 15 minutes, and it really opens up your opportunities on where you can go, what jobs you can access, when you have that flexibility."

According to Rudolph, 2019 saw about 200,000 more rides than 2018. He says weekend ridership particularly saw a steep increase.

"Sunday ridership is at an all time high," said Rudolph. "That's been our biggest growth. So when we started the process before the system changes, people said they wanted more service on the weekend. We doubled our service on the weekend and we've had significant ridership increase especially on Sundays."

He says several other changes made to the city's bus system could have impacted those ridership numbers, like extending a route to the Alaska Native Medical Center, and extending another one to the airport.

"I don't have a car, so it's really convenient to use the bus to get from place to place," said People Mover rider, Alexander Ashy. "I plan where I move and where I go based on how the bus goes, so I'm really lucky to have found that People Mover and the bus system here is like really convenient. It's really nice."

However, not everyone feels the same way. "They took out some really good routes, bus 60, bus 36, and a lot of people have lost their jobs because they couldn't get to work," said People Mover rider, Michael Vinsonhaler. "My work wanted me to come back after seven years, but I couldn't get there because they took bus 60 off."

Rudolph says while it's great ridership numbers are up, they are well aware that there are still gaps in the system.

"We are very aware that people who used to have service no longer have service, or people are walking a lot further to the bus stop than they used to," said Rudolph. "That's why we have started a short range transit plan called Transit on the Move."

Transportation officials are still seeking

The draft version is out for public review and comment. Rudolph says people can comment until January 31st. It's available

, or you can pick up a printed copy at the downtown Transit Center.

"In that plan, it's very important because we have prioritized the next route," said Rudolph. "We always said, 'if we got additional funding, what would we do next?' That's the purpose of this plan, and this plan has prioritized a route on Old Seward Highway, that goes directly to the Loussac Library and also serves West Anchorage."

According to Rudolph, the Anchorage Assembly has appropriated funds to allow for the Public Transportation Department to implement a new route as soon as fall 2020.