Bus ridership growing, but needs more frequency, regional system head says

Good morning, Today we'll talk WATA ridership, tell you why housing advocates say our area needs denser housing, and publish a warning about density from the James City County planning chair.

Correction: we have corrected the name of WATA in the second paragraph.

The regional bus authority reached a post-Covid high of 1.5 million riders last year and will increase frequency to be a more convenient option, Williamsburg City Council was told Monday.

“We need to be more convenient” to grow ridership further, Matthew Scalia, executive director of the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority, told the council’s work session.

Scalia said frequency on the two main routes – 1 from Lee Hall to the Williamsburg Transportation Center and Route 2 along the Richmond Road corridor– will increase to every 30 minutes this spring. Other routes will get additional frequency over the next four years, he said with Route 12 going to a bus every 15 minutes.

Increased ridership will eventually increase the federal funding that pays 41.6% of the bus service’s $9.8 million operating budget this year, Scalia said. Localities served by WATA -- Williamsburg and James City and York counties – contribute 15.7%.…