GTA's On A Roll!

It's official! 2003 has been an outstanding year for the Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) and for public transportation in our community. The record year for GTA includes:

A new level of overall ridership volume - approximately 2,240,000 million trips were made on GTA this year - up 6.4% from 2002 and up 38% over the last decade;
A new monthly record for passengers served on our fixed route system - over 200,000 trips were made on our buses during October…a first for the system;
GTA moved their transfer station from Davie Street to the new J. Douglas Galyon Depot in August;
10 new buses were added to the GTA fleet in May, additional benches and shelters were installed to accommodate passengers, and other system improvements were made to enhance overall system convenience, dependability, and on-time performance resulting in improved customer satisfaction survey results for 2003;
GTA continued to work with the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) to promote and support the new Regional bus service.
These improvements and growth allow GTA to strengthen its position as a legitimate transportation choice for all citizens in our community. And public transit helps combat our growing traffic congestion and air quality problems, while providing support for economic development and commerce - 58% of riders use GTA to access work and 33% to access shopping.

So what's in store for 2004 and beyond? More riders, better services, more success! GTA is currently finishing the first phase of its long range public transportation Master Plan called Mobility Greensboro. With a goal of doubling ridership in the next five years, the plan provides recommendations which range from partnering with local colleges, universities, and employers to increasing frequency of bus service.

In addition, the GTA Board recently completed and adopted a series of recommendations to enhance SCAT (Special Community Area Transportation), GTA's ADA-complementary service. When implemented, these recommendations will extend the current reach of this important service for those with disabilities to the whole City and make the service more user-friendly.

For more information, contact Jim Westmoreland, Director of Transportation at 373-2863 or 382-6456 - mobile, or Bruce Adams, GTA at 412-6237. Stay tuned!