Bluff Area Transit Service (BATS) is seeing its number of riders bounce back from the 2020 decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Denny Ward, executive director for Southeast Missouri Transportation Service (SMTS), which oversees BATS operations, said, “Our numbers are rebounding well.”
“Things dropped off in 2020,” Ward said. “People were not getting out, not seeing doctors in the office, and relying on telemedicine.”
SMTS statistics report that BATS had 4,282 riders in January 2020 and 5,019 riders in February 2020.
Those numbers fell to 3,285 in March 2020 and 2,635 in April 2020.
Moving ahead to 2021, April riders numbered 4,828, and May riders were 3,644.
“We feel like the trend is continuing to grow,” Ward said.
SMTS covers 21 counties in Southeast Missouri and is the second-largest rural transportation provider in the U.S.
Older American Transportation Service (OATS) in Columbia, Missouri, is the largest provider.
Missouri is the only state in the U.S. that has public transportation providers in every county, Ward said.
SMTS has operated for 48 years, and Ward is only its second executive director. He started that position in 2015, but he has worked for SMTS for 15 years.
Ward said that SMTS is still following a mask mandate for its drivers, and vehicles are still carefully cleaned according to COVID prevention guidelines.
“Some employees are still working from home,” Ward said, “but we expect everyone to return eventually.”
Funding for SMTS comes from the Federal Transit Administration, the Missouri Department of Transportation, the city of Poplar Bluff, and 60 individual transportation contracts.
The service also has a contract with Missouri Medicaid. Ward says a big part of their service is transporting people from home to doctor’s appointments and back.
“Rarely a week goes by that we don’t get a note or email from satisfied customers,” Ward said.
He said some of the riders’ comments are, “Without BATS, I couldn’t continue to live independently,” and “Without it, I couldn’t get to medical appointments.”
BATS operates in and around the Poplar Bluff area Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We can do this because the city supports it financially,” Ward said. “I applaud the city for recognizing the need and helping us keep it operating.”
Those wishing to find more information can call 573-785-2928, toll free 800-392-0754, or go to the website at www.ridesmts.org.