PVTA welcomes 11 millionth passenger in Springfield
Date: 7/3/2013
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comSPRINGFIELD — Pat Wilkerson and her nephew Max were simply waiting for a bus in downtown Springfield. They didn't know what they represented.
Wilkerson was the 11 millionth passenger for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) this fiscal year.
"I'm very surprised," she said with a laugh. "I was sitting here waiting for the bus."
Mary MacInnes, PVTA administrator, presented Wilkerson with a pass good for one year and a PVTA gift bag.
The event was more than just a publicity stunt, MacInnes explained. "The reason is so important to the PVTA."
She explained that in 2002 the transit authority had to cut its service by 17 percent and lost three million riders.
Over the years, that funding has never returned to the PVTA, but MacInnes said that ridership has grown over the past five years so much that it has gained back two million of those previously lost users without restoring the previous service.
MacInnes believes the PVTA will grow even more in future years with the opening of the Union Station intermodal travel center. She told
Reminder Publications she believes the expansion of Amtrak service to Holyoke and Northampton as well as its high-speed route to Vermont and the expansion of commuter rail in Connecticut close to the Massachusetts border will "work in the PVTA's advantage."
The possibility of the state granting the Western Massachusetts casino license to MGM in Springfield would also assist the growth of the PVTA, she added.
MacInnes could not definitely explain the growth in ridership over the past five years, as there hasn't been a specific ridership survey completed. She does attribute the influx of users to the recession and to rising fuel prices.
The PVTA will be adding electronic billboards at its major stops in the next few months that will have continually updated information about busses' arrival and departures, she added.
For Wilkerson, the PVTA is both "convenient" and "has a nice price."
