For the second year in a row, Lawrence Transit has received the award for the highest ridership among public transit systems in Kansas from the Federal Transit Administration. The award was for 2015 ridership and was presented at the 2016 Transit Midwest/State Transportation Partnership Conference in Kansas City on August 15.

The ridership award is presented annually in the State of Kansas to the transit system with the highest ridership. Lawrence Transit’s total ridership in 2015 was 2,992,970 riders. This included ridership numbers from both the city of Lawrence and the University of Kansas.

“This award emphasizes the positive results of what coordinated transit can do. Together, the city and KU provide a service that is greater than either could provide separately,” said Danny Kaiser, Associate Director of parking and Transit at KU.

“We are excited about winning awards, but mostly we are excited to see people in Lawrence riding the bus and finding it useful to get to work, school, appointments and errands,” said Robert Nugent, Transit Administrator. “We are always looking for ways to improve our service, which in turn increases our ridership and makes transit a practical transportation option for all residents in Lawrence.”

The award came on the heels of Lawrence Transit increasing service on Routes 5, 7 and 10 due to high ridership. These routes have increased in frequency from one hour to 30 minutes, essentially doubling the amount of service on these routes, which serve many areas of town including downtown, KU, East Hills Business Park, 31st and Iowa and 6th & Wakarusa. Increases in service not only make it easier to ride the bus, but it also makes it easier to transfer to other buses with less wait time.

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