Grand Valley sees record bus ridership for 10th year in a row

Bus ridership has increased every fall since a partnership between Grand Valley State University and The Rapid began in 2000. During the first month of classes in the 2000 fall semester, an average of 770 students rode the bus each day; in the first month of classes for the 2009 fall semester, an average of 21,478 students rode the bus.

“We are so excited to experience record ridership for the 10th consecutive year,” said Erin Babson, operations manager for Pew Campus and Regional Centers. “We are proud that the bus system has become part of the Grand Valley culture. This shows that our students are part of a generation that believes in the value and importance of public transportation.”

Babson said bus ridership is up 13.2 percent from fall 2008 to fall 2009. She added that in 2005-06 there were a total of 684,746 riders compared to a total of 2,411,631 riders in 2008-09.

Bus ridership in 2008-09 saved students:
• $18,183,696 in auto operating costs
• 1,567,560 gallons of gas
• $3,651,197 in fuel costs

A total of 20 buses run about every 6-7 minutes. Grand Valley runs five separate routes, both within and around the Allendale and Pew Grand Rapids campuses seven days a week.

The increasing use of buses is evidence of Grand Valley’s commitment to sustainability. The university received the highest “green” rating among Michigan’s colleges and universities in an annual report by The Princeton Review and is the only Michigan school cited in Kaplan College Guide 2009's list of "cutting-edge green" colleges and universities. The university was the recipient of the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2008 Recognition Award and the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s 2008 National Sustainability Innovator Award.

Grand Valley State University attracts more than 24,400 students with high-quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is a comprehensive university serving students from all 83 Michigan counties and dozens of other states and foreign countries. Grand Valley offers 77 undergraduate and 28 graduate degree programs from campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and from regional centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships.