OCEAN CITY, Md. - The Town of Ocean City will meet Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. to discuss a report from the town's Transportation Committee, showing a May decline in bus ridership and revenue compared to last May.
The report finds that Memorial Day bus ridership was down 31.4%, bringing bus revenue down 35.3% and parking revenue down 57.3% from last year. Overall, bus ridership has seen a slight 17.7% decrease from last year, and bus revenue is down 6.4% from last year.
Town Manager Terry McGean says he does not see this as an issue that will turn into a trend for the rest of the summer. He attributes the decline to a rainy Memorial Day weekend and a weekend without Boardwalk Rock.
"We'll typically, during those beach festivals, we will transport or have around 30,000 riders. So when you lose that amount of riders in a month like May, which is not like July or August, it really shows as though it's a big difference," McGean says. "We really again have no concern."
McGean tells CoastTV that they have not compiled ridership numbers for June yet, but feels as if it's been a strong month.
In April, the town discussed removing 12 bus stops, but McGean doesn't believe the removal of those stops factors in.
But for some people in town like Leonard Burrs, who has lived in Ocean City since the 1980's, the bus system is a game changer for getting across the roughly 10-mile stretch of town.
"Without the bus, be a lot of walking," Burrs tells CoastTV. "That's perfect for me. When I go up to work, I just walk down the street and right there. Right at the inlet, you can't beat it. Without the buses we'd be in trouble."
As Ocean City enters its busiest season, town leaders are hoping every stop brings a few more riders along with it.
