Feb. 10, 2014. AppalCART, the public transportation authority serving all of Watauga County announced a 6 percent ridership increase on its routes over January a year ago. The authority recorded 148,129 passenger trips last month versus 139,154 for the month of January 2013.
According to AppalCART’s Transportation Director, Chris Turner, the difference this year can largely be attributed to the addition of the Teal Route and increases on the most fixed routes. The Teal Route links Appalachian State University with the Cottages of Boone development off of Poplar Grove Road. The new Teal Route added 7,067 passenger trips last month. Van routes recorded 868 passenger trips in 11,306 miles of service this January which proved to be one of the coldest on record.
AppalCART’s paratransit service, which takes people with disabilities that prevent them from using the bus where they would have gone on the bus, showed a decrease of seven percent. In January 2013, AppalCART has 914 paratransit trips and last month the transit authority recorded 868 trips in 11,306 miles of service.
For more information on AppalCART statistics, see the website at www.appalcart.com.