GRTA 'Pleased' With Performance of Park and Ride Routes

Since opening in 2011, the Hebron Baptist Church park and ride and the Hamilton Mill park and ride have continued to draw new riders.

, opened last June with just a handful of riders. In July, its first full month of operation, . According to the latest numbers provided by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, Route 416 now has an average of 176 boardings each day.

A boarding is recorded as each time a rider gets on the coach. Most riders will count as two boardings a day -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

, have also experienced an increase in ridership. Route 413 to downtown had 100 boardings on its best day during its first month of operation in August of 2011. Last month, the route averaged 171 boardings each day.

Route 411 to midtown, which also picks up passengers at the Mall of Georgia, averaged 299 boardings a day in April.

"We are pleased with the performance of all of these routes," wrote William Mecke, chief public relations officer for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, in an email to Dacula Patch.

Have you used either park and ride lot? What did you think of the experience? Is this service a good use of public funding? Tell us in the comments.

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