ORT Ridership Increases in Northwest Arkansas

Several trends in public transit are cumulating in increased overall ridership on the service.

In 2023, the Ozark Regional Transit Authority’s Board of Directors made the decision to re-institute fares on the On-Demand Transit model. This model is a ride-sharing model very similar to other private ride-sharing services but with a reduced cost to ride; only $1.25 per passenger, per trip.

It was noted that the most cost-effective model, being the Fixed-Route service, should be encouraged and that the ride-sharing model, though extremely convenient, should warrant a small cost for the convenience.

Since then, with more emphasis on Fixed Route and the mass transportation of people through the region at a zero-fare cost to the rider, the ridership on this more cost-effective model has steadily increased. Benton county’s ridership has experienced a boom in recent months.

Longer routes have been divided to smaller ones in the interest of rider efficacy and additional routes have come into service, all of which have created a greater synergy of public transit service which has also served to bolster ridership.

Midway through 2025, the public transit system is experiencing an overall boom of transit riders and ORT is poised to achieve a record year of ridership with 163,607 passengers year-to-date.