Last Updated on July 7, 2014 2:36 pm
AppalCART announced a record annual ridership figure of 1,756,161 passenger trips for the fiscal year completed June 30 in 870,013 miles of service.
According to Transportation Director Chris Turner, AppalCART experienced a 7 percent increase in ridership during the prior fiscal year with a 9 percent increase in hours of service and a 10 percent increase in miles of service. Turner said that the system recorded 64,134.82 hours of service, which was 5,294.04 hours more than the prior fiscal year.
AppalCART added some peak hour service by beginning the Teal Route in August, which served Appalachian State University, Cottages of Boone Apartments off Poplar Grove Road and stops in between.
The Teal Route contributed 79,105 passenger trips in 54,008 miles and 3,563 hours of service during its first year of operations.
The transportation authority also recorded 192,265 miles of van service throughout Watauga County that resulted in 15,012 one-way trips.
The door-to-door paratransit van service recorded 13,364 passenger trips in 58,789 miles of service for a ridership increase of 13.4 percent.
AppalCART operated out of its new facility for the entire fiscal year.
For more information on AppalCART services visit http://www.appalcart.com or call the dispatch office at (828) 297-1300.
