A day riding trolleys now goes for $1 in Concord, but for a couple weeks you had to get on board to find out.
Fare was $1.25 for a single trip until the start of November, when it was reduced as part of an effort by Concord Area Transit to lure more riders onto the trolleys. Organizers have ordered signs advertising the deal to plaster on the outside of the vehicles, but for now, the new fare is posted inside the trolleys, and a newspaper advertisement was published Monday. The $1 price includes a single transfer onto the regular bus.
The trolleys have averaged almost 60 riders a day since the price cut, up from between 30 and 40 riders a day, said James Sudak, director of Concord Area Transit. But he said the jury's out on whether the change will spur a significant and sustained increase.
"It's really too soon to tell right now," Sudak said.
He said no significant marketing campaign will begin until a study of the transit system concludes in February.
The two city trolleys are funded mostly by a federal contract scheduled toin December 2010. Sudak said his office will examine ridership trends around June and decide whether they shouldthe program early. Complaints of empty trolleys have dogged the program since it was launched in July 2008 with a federal grant and money from Northeast Delta Dental and Concord 2020. Yesterday afternoon, three trolley runs down Main Street showed a total of four passengers.
November also brought changes to the route of the bus serving Concord Heights. That bus no longer stops at NHTI, a change designed to reduce redundancy with the trolley route. And the bus serving Industrial Park will make stops for a 90-day trial at the Department of Health and Human Services at Terrill Park, Sudak said.
The Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission has retained a consultant to study the Concord Area Transit program for the next four months, said Rodrigo Marion, principal transportation planner at the commission. The study will include a survey for people who don't ride the bus, distributed at community events and locations throughout the city, and results will be used to plan future appeals for new riders.
"We want to know why they're not using the bus," Marion said. "That's something we would like to find out before we propose any marketing studies."
Marion said he expected the fare cut would attract more riders, but he said the biggest issue before public transportation advocates is people's desire to come and leave as they please.
"It's more convenient to get in their cars and pay 50 cents or 25 cents for parking downtown instead of riding the trolley and waiting for the next trolley to come in 10 minutes," he said.
Ralph Harwood, a retired youth counselor, said he averages seven trips a week on the bus and trolley, often to visit family in Penacook. He said retirees and grocery shoppers are two main populations he sees on the vehicles.
Northeast Delta Dental, which provided $90,000 to help run the trolleys, is hoping other companies step in to advertise on the trolleys.
"Part of what we're trying to do is get merchants to market on the trolleys so it doesn't have Northeast Delta Dental plastered all over," said Joe Casper, director of corporate services for the Concord dental insurer.
Northeast Delta Dental is working with Concord 2020 and Main Street Concord to encourage local businesses to hand out passes for free rides, Casper said
