Triangle Transit buses carried 1.1 million riders in the fiscal year that ended June 30, up 19%. It’s the first year TT’s been over the million mark.

Is it worth it? The reported farebox recovery rate (money in versus operating costs out) was up slightly, from 11% to 13%, despite the fact — the agency (they’re trying to bury their old TTA=Authority identity) said — that over half their passengers ride free or on reduced fares. It’s socialized transportation, but so is driving a car on a public thoroughfare.

More from the agency below:

TRIANGLE TRANSIT ANNUAL RIDERSHIP REACHES NEW HIGH

Research Triangle Park, N.C. – (August 26, 2009) Ridership on Triangle Transit reached an all-time high for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.

The announcement was made at today’s meeting of the Board of Trustees and was released in an annual performance report on Triangle Transit services for FY 2009. The report found:

· Record ridership – For the first time in the agency’s history, more than one million unlinked passenger trips took place on Triangle Transit regional bus routes in FY 2009. Ridership in FY 2009 surpassed that in FY 2008 by 19.4 percent. (Triangle Transit recorded 1,143,375 boardings – 183,000 more than in FY08).

· Increased efficiency – Triangle Transit reduced operating costs by five percent, while providing eight percent more service (in revenue service hours) in FY 2009 than in FY 2008.

· Improved farebox recovery – Triangle Transit improved the percent of operating costs recovered through collection of fares (from 11 percent to 13 percent) despite the fact that the use of discounted passes (e.g., 30-day pass, State Government GoPass) now accounts for more than 60% of boardings.

· Increased productivity – Productivity of Triangle Transit routes continues to increase, with buses carrying more passengers per hour than ever before.

· Express services thrive – The Chapel Hill-Raleigh and Durham-Raleigh express routes continue to be among the most productive in Triangle transit’s system. Their average productivity increased from 12.7 to 15.6 passengers per hour from FY 2008 to FY 2009; this takes into account the service added to each route in October 2008.