PEORIA — In 2011, 3,180,714 people rode CityLink buses, the most riders the Greater Peoria Area Mass Transit District has ever had in a year.

It was only the second time that over 3 million people had rode CityLink buses during a period of one year, since the Transit District was formed in 1970.

In a statement, CityLink General Manager Tom Lucek described the ridership history of the Transit District in the last 41 years.
“Greater Peoria Mass Transit District has come a long way,” said Lucek. “In 1970, we had fewer than one million passengers. In the ‘80s, CityLink reached 2 million. It’s been up and down over the years, but this year we had well over 3 million.”
During 2008 when the national average price for a gallon of gas hit a record high of $4.11, 3,026,541 riders rode CityLink buses, setting the previous record that was broke last year.
Over 200,000 more people rode CityLink buses in 2011 than in 2010.
High gas prices and a struggling economy contributed to the drastic increase in ridership last year, said CityLink Spokeswoman Emily West.
“Prices are going up everywhere,” said West. “At the pump, they are up and down all the time. The grocery store — it seems every time we turn around something’s costing more. I think that plays a role (in the increase in ridership).”
The average price for a gallon of gas in Peoria County is currently up 0.2 percent from a year ago.
Another reason ridership drastically increased last year is because CityLink is in the process of replacing its aging fleet of buses with brand new buses, said West.
“We have over 20 new buses out on the roads,” said West. “The new buses do provide a more pleasant riding experience. I think that’s what our passengers are experiencing now.”
West expects the remainder of the old buses in CityLink’s fleet of 46 buses to be phased out and replaced with brand new buses in 2012.
“We will have the remaining of the 46 new buses on the roads by this time next year,” said West.
The new buses are “union made” in California and release less carbon emissions than the old buses do, said West.
“From an emissions standpoint, the new buses are better for the environment,” said West.
With gas prices expected to stay high and the availability of new buses for riders, West expects CityLink ridership to continue to increase.
CityLink has formed a technology committee to enhance the technology capabilities of its buses. According to West, the committee is considering the creation of new fare boxes that can read “smart cards” to speed up the boarding process; the installation of Wi-Fi on its buses; increasing communication with its passengers either through message alerts or social media; GPS in the buses so that riders can be informed if a bus is running late; and other ideas.
“We have all this new technology now,” said West. “We’re looking at text message alerts, Twitter and Facebook — anything we can do to better communicate with our riders.”