OCTOBER 2008 PRESS RELEASE

Bus Service Is The Only Option For 34% Of Riders, According To RVTD's Latest Passenger Survey

October 13, 2008 (Medford OR): Annually, public transportation reduces U.S. gasoline consumption by 4.2 billion gallons, according to statistics published by the American Public Transportation Association. During the second quarter of 2008, U.S. public transit ridership increased 5.2%. Total trips may exceed 10.3 billion by year-end.

In Southern Oregon, the Rogue Valley Transportation District (RVTD) operates a bus system that serves seven cities. Passenger surveys are conducted triennially. RVTD contracted with Feedback Research Services / Feed-back.com to conduct its 2008 Passenger Survey this past spring. Surveys were completed with 600 passengers on various routes and during different times of the day, over a four-week period. Percentages of surveyed passengers on each route reflected total ridership.

Paige Townsend, Senior Planner, explains why the findings are important: "The passenger survey results help RVTD understand how we are meeting the needs of current users of the system and suggest improvements that could be made. We look for large fluctuations between survey years.

"We assumed there would be an impact from increasing fuel prices. We saw a slight increase in average passenger income from the 2005 survey and found more passengers are using the bus to get to work than in previous years. This tells us that the bus is being relied upon by more people who may have otherwise taken a car in the last survey year (2005). If RVTD's plans to extend service hours and add Saturday service proceed, it will be very interesting to see if the expansion attracts new users to the system in the next survey (2011)."

One of the most interesting findings from the 2008 survey indicated that 34% of respondents would not make the trip they were currently taking if bus service were unavailable -- demonstrating an 8% increase over findings from 2005. Another 26% of RVTD survey respondents indicated they would "get a ride" to reach their destinations.

Unfortunately, that may not be a viable alternative. In July 2008, Feedback Research Services conducted person-on-the-street surveys about driving patterns in four of the cities served by RVTD[1]. A total of 91 respondents participated, most of whom (40%) drove less this year than during the same time in 2007. Within that group, 75% had eliminated three or more trips per week.

[1] StrataGist, July 15, 2008.

About Feedback Research Services (FRS)

FRS is a consulting / publishing company that analyzes consumer, health care, medical, transportation, and other markets. Feed-back.com is an online resource for affordable industry reports and cost-effective custom research services. FRS conducted RVTD's 2008 Passenger Survey from April through mid-June 2008.

About Rogue Valley Transportation District (RVTD)

RVTD has been in operation since 1975 and currently serves urbanized areas of Jackson County, Oregon, with regularly scheduled bus routes in seven cities. Passenger Survey Reports from 2003, 2005, and 2008 are available to read or download at the RVTD web site at: www.rvtd.org.