ORT Route 620 Shows 30 Percent Increase

Molly Hyde, of Lincoln, would not have a job without the Ozark Regional Transit bus that travels between Lincoln and West Fork each week day.

Hyde does not have a vehicle. She rode the bus for Route 620 to interview for a job at McDonald’s on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fayetteville. She now rides a transit bus daily to go back and forth to work and has been using the transit system for about three weeks.

“It’s awesome,” Hyde said last week as she rode the bus Thursday morning to work. “It’s nice because I don’t have a car. I wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the bus.”

Almost 3,500 riders boarded the

Route 620 bus in 2015, according to a year- end report recently released.

Sys temwide, Ozark Regional Transit had a second straight, record-setting year. The transit reported ridership at 332,452 for 2015, including fixed routes, charters and paratransits.

Ozark Regional began operating Route 620 on June 2, 2014. For 149 days in 2014, the ridership was 1,575, giving the number of riders per day in 2014 at 10.6. For 2015, the route operated for a full year or 252 days. The number of riders per day in 2015 was 13.8.

“Comparing apples to apples by the ridership per day, in this case, ridership has increased on Route 620 by just a tad over 30 percent,” said Jeff Hatley, mobility manager and public information officer. “This compares well to the increase in ridership, overall, which saw a 5 percent increase in fixed route ridership.”

A 30- percent increase in riders is “huge,” Hatley said.

The route starts at 6: 15 a.m. in West Fork, follows U.S. 71 and then turns west on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It stops at Lot 56 on the University of Arkansas campus so riders can transfer to other routes in the system. From there, it makes stops in Farmington, Prairie Grove and Lincoln before turning around, making the same stops on the return trip. The route ends each day at 9:15 p.m. at Harp’s grocery story in West Fork.

Hatley said the system considers the route a success.

“It’s a brand new route,” Hatley said. “Its Achilles’ Heel is that it takes three hours to go round trip but we hope to get more funding and to be able to add another bus to the route.”

Jeff Blas, one of the drivers for Route 620, said few people rode when he first started but now the route averages 10 riders per day. Many passengers take the bus to Lot 56 in Fayetteville and transfer to other routes. Some of his regular customers are University of Arkansas students or students going to NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Farmington, Springdale or Bentonville. One rider is an instructor with Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale.

“Everyone who gets on is happy and so appreciative of the route,” Blas said.

Fares cost $1.25 for adults, $1 for youth 6-18 years old and $1 for University of Arkansas students. Seniors over 60 pay 60 cents per fare. Seniors 75 and older and veterans ride free.

All ORT vehicles are wheelchair-accessible. Bicycle racks are available on all fixed- route buses. For information on paratransit service and fixed routes, call ORT at (479) 756-5901 or visit www.ozark.org.