In Sam Pitts’ 2 1/2 years driving the central campus route for the Starkville-MSU Area Rapid Transit (SMART) system, 2020 stands out. He’s unlikely to ever forget it.
The system abruptly shut down its campus routes in mid-March, when the COVID-19 pandemic drove Mississippi State University’s courses to an all-virtual format. By the time a limited number of students returned to campus in August, SMART was requiring masks for riders and only allowing buses to carry half of their passenger capacity — with riders directed to sit in every other seat.
“It was a lot more solemn at first because people didn’t want to get sick,” Pitts recalled. “People, understandably, were scared of the unknown. As time has moved, people have gotten more comfortable with wearing masks and the other protocols.”
The anxiety wasn’t constrained to the riders, either. Pitts has dealt with his own fears while driving throughout the ongoing pandemic, though he said he has “felt pretty safe.”
“I wear my mask and the riders are slightly behind you as they enter the bus,” he said. “I don’t know if they are six feet away when they come in, but they are at least four or five feet. … We (the drivers) know we’re very vital in getting those students to and from class. That’s what keeps us going.”
“Vital” and “essential” are words SMART director Jeremiah Dumas leaned into Tuesday, even as he reported to Starkville aldermen a 42-percent systemwide decrease in fixed-route ridership in 2020 as part of his annual report to the city. SMART has fixed routes on campus and throughout the city, all of which are free to ride.
There also has been a 32-percent decrease in paratransit, a door-to-door transportation option for citizens with disabilities or medical needs, Dumas said.
“There’s no doubt, when you look at these numbers, what the impact (of COVID-19) has been,” Dumas told the aldermen.
SMART is funded primarily through a Federal Transportation Commission grant, with contributions from MSU and the city, as well as marketing/advertising revenue, accounting for most of the rest. In 2021, the system is applying for more than $4.7 million in FTC grant funds, with $1.8 million to come from MSU and $50,000 coming from the city.
Tuesday’s public hearing and report was one of the requirements for renewing the annual federal grant.
SMART reported a banner year in 2019, with systemwide ridership up 20.5-percent from the year before. January 2020 showed promise for even more growth, with 21,475 more riders that month than in January 2019.
But then, “we all know what happened in March,” Dumas said.
Ridership tanked in the spring and summer, as campus routes closed and capacity on city routes was restricted. Still, Dumas said, SMART only shut down the city routes for one day in March before resuming them with protocols in place ever since. Besides mask requirements and capacity restrictions, the buses also are frequently electrostatically cleaned (using a surface spray), he said. Hand sanitizer also is stationed on the buses.
Dumas believes those protocols worked, reporting Tuesday that despite unintentionally carrying COVID-positive riders at times, there is no evidence to suggest the virus was ever transmitted on the buses.
October was the worst month for ridership compared to the previous year, Dumas said, with nearly 100,000 fewer riders compared to October 2019.
“A lot of that was gameday,” Dumas told The Dispatch, referring to the routes SMART runs for football fans attending MSU home football games, where capacity was limited to 25 percent in 2020, “But October is traditionally one of largest student months (for on-campus routes), too.”
Despite SMART’s ridership loss, Dumas said other mass transit systems he’s consulted have seen use reductions of up to 80 percent during the pandemic. SMART’s fare-free model, he said, helps with future stability because it isn’t losing revenue for lack of riders.
City officials on Tuesday seemed satisfied with SMART’s performance during COVID-19.
“It’s definitely beneficial to our community,” Mayor Lynn Spruill said. “… It’s an extraordinary thing, and I’m glad that we partner with them.”
Dumas said SMART will maintain its current number of routes for 2021, and construction will soon begin for a new, $4.5 million headquarters for the system on Buckner Boulevard on the south side of MSU’s campus. A Mississippi Department of Transportation grant funded 80 percent of that project.
SMART will use surveys online and on the buses to inform marketing efforts that will hopefully recruit riders back as the pandemic wanes, Dumas said. In the meantime, the goal is to keep offering the best, safest service possible.
“I believe things will eventually level out and return to pre-COVID ridership numbers,” Dumas said. “How long will that take? We don’t know. … The main thing we have to focus on is maintaining a high standard for service and safety. That’s the only way it’s going to bounce back.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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