The number of UC Riverside students and employees riding the bus to campus continues to increase.

The most recent ridership report shows 59,300 passenger boardings on Riverside Transit Agency, or RTA, buses for October, a 52% increase from October 2023 when it was 39,012.

October is typically when the campus sees the highest ridership numbers, said Tara Pueschel, transportation demand management specialist with Transportation and Parking Services, or TAPS.

The numbers show a steady climb over the last four years after ridership dropped during the pandemic. Although ridership is not at the pre-COVID level, it has gone up each year even as work habits have changed.

More employees work remote or hybrid schedules now. In 2019, only 3% of employees telecommuted while this year 25% of employees telecommuted, according to a recent survey of commute habits.

TAPS has partnered with RTA to offer students and employees free unlimited rides through the RTA UPASS program. It also contracts with RTA to offer Route 51 and Route 56, which travel within and directly around campus.

Riders can swipe their R’Card at the electronic fare box when boarding or use RTA’S Go Mobile app to activate a pass on their smartphone. Learn how to activate your pass here.

RTA currently offers service on 32 local fixed routes, three CommuterLink express routes, and Dial-A-Ride, with five routes that make direct stops at UCR.