After a full year of ridership growth, March had a slight decrease in ridership (1.99%). March of SAM services provided 11,297 rides as compared to March provided 11,526 rides. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in rides on the SAM Gresham route.
The SAM-Gresham route experienced a 5.2% decrease in ridership. One possible explanation is construction and changes at the Gresham Transit Center. During the changes, the SAM bus stop was moved slightly North from its previous location.
The new SAM Shopper has experienced 55.4% increase as compared to March 2017.
The Estacada route has shown rebound from all of the changes made in 2016 and grew by 25.5% as compared to March 2017This route has proven to be an important connection for commuters and the Transit Department hopes to add runs to this route in the near future, especially once the House Bill 2017 funds begin to be distributed.
STAR experienced a slight (2.5%) increase in ridership as compared to 2017 with 1334 scheduled rides last month.
The Elderly and Disabled program (out-of-town medical rides) decreased by 30.2% due to increased dialysis treatment available in Sandy.
SAM staff were very successful in the last round of Federal grants. Through several grant programs, Sandy Transit was awarded over $900,000 for 2 new heavy duty transit buses for the Gresham route, 2 new medium sized buses for the STAR dial-a-ride route and $80,000 to repair and improve the wash bay at the Operations Center.
In March, Sandy selected a vendor for ITS equipment on the buses. DoubleMap will install tablets on 7 SAM vehicles and 3 MHX vehicles. SAM will have an app and webpage that will show the location of moving buses and estimated arrival times. DoubleMap will install interior signage that will visually display the next bus stop and could potentially display advertising. The equipment will use the bus GPS location to announce the next stop automatically. All of the information, including the pre-trip and post-trip entered by drivers will be uploaded to the computer reporting system located in the office reducing the need for office staff to enter the data. The system will be up and running by June, according to the contract, but we actually expect completion sooner.