Melissa Small and Jatu Faux sat close to the front of the JeffTran bus, Faux cradling her 2-month-old daughter, Julia. Behind them, the Missouri Boulevard route bus was packed with people waiting for their stops.
Monday was Discover JeffTran/Ride Free Day, and a number of Jefferson City residents took advantage of free fixed-route buses. Jefferson City Transit Division Director Mark Mehmert said the free ride day not only thanks current riders, but also promotes the bus system.
"(We wanted to) expose a lot of folks who might consider looking at JeffTran for their transportation needs and figure out if it might be an option for them," he said. "A no-cost sort of way to do that is to provide that free day."
All buses, except for the Capital Mall route, stop at the Transfer Facility at 820 E. Miller St. As the only route that connects with the Capital Mall route, the Missouri Boulevard route receives a high number of transfers.
Major stops along the Missouri Boulevard route include Menard's, Schnucks and Hyder Apartments. The Business 50 East route takes riders to stops at Scholastic, Walmart East and Missouri River Regional Library, while the Capital Mall route makes stops at St. Mary's Hospital and JCMG.
Other routes include Southwest, High Street East and High Street West.
There are also Tripper routes that run to schools, including Jefferson City High School, Helias High School, Immaculate Conception School and Simonsen 9th Grade Center.
The Missouri Boulevard route's average daily ridership is more than two times larger than the other routes, according to the Existing Conditions Report from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. The number of people the Missouri Boulevard route served per route mile was triple that of other routes.
The Southwest route was the least used, with average weekday daily ridership at 92 people in 2016 - over 3.5 times less than the Missouri Boulevard route.
One of the most common remarks among JeffTran riders Monday was the friendliness of the drivers.
Jefferson City resident Scott Culley has been riding JeffTran for three years since he does not have a car and enjoys going to Schnucks. Since he is a regular on the buses, he said, he has gotten to know the drivers.
"All the drivers I've been associated with have been super, very personable," Culley said Monday.
"I've been riding the bus for three years now, so I think we've gotten to know each other, and we know each others' personalities and we kid around, so it's just real comfortable riding the bus."
Other riders said they like the convenience, even though the bus rides can be long. A round trip takes about 40 minutes.
Mychael Henderson, who drove the High Street East bus Monday, said he enjoys talking with riders every day.
"I'm a people person, so I love meeting people, helping individuals," he said. "It's like family on there, because you start looking for individuals, because you see them every day.
"I look at them like they're family, so I talk with them, joke around with them. It also makes my day go by pretty fast."
Henderson recommended new riders tell their bus drivers where they want to go and arrive at the bus stops about five minutes early.
Jefferson City resident Amanda Bogard rode the High Street East route Monday and suggested riders study the updated JeffTran maps and have backup plans in case they miss their bus.
JeffTran ridership fell 3.5 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, and the Transit Division and CAMPO are working on improvements to the public transit system. They held stakeholder and public meetings earlier this year to gather recommendations.
Faux and Small said they would like to see extended hours on the weekdays, while Culley suggested adding a Saturday service.
Eighty-eight percent of those at the public meeting expressed interest in evening and weekend services. The online survey results showed 56 percent were in favor of adding Saturday daytime service, with 34 percent asking for weekday evening service.
Online survey-takers stated the Missouri Boulevard route most needed additional service options.
Fixed-route buses and Handi-Wheels, a curb-to-curb service for those who can't travel to fixed-route bus due to disabilities, currently operate from 6:40 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. Handi-Wheels hours can fluctuate.
Around 82 percent of those surveyed said they would pay higher fares for more service hours or days, but about 40 percent said they thought JeffTran should only increase the fare by a quarter. A third of respondents thought JeffTran should double its fares.
The current fare is $1, with a senior/disability fare of 50 cents. Handi-Wheels' fares are $2 per ride.
Some riders suggested updating the mobile app, while others thought the city should update the printable maps on the city's website so landmarks are marked properly, such as the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, now located at 700 E. Capitol Ave. but shown on the maps at its former East High Street location.
CAMPO and the Jefferson City Transit Division will host another public meeting from 3-6 p.m. Oct. 17 in City Hall, where they will discuss improvements to JeffTran.
At that meeting, the division will display an electric bus. During last month's Jefferson City Public Transit Advisory Committee, Mehmert proposed trying an electric bus since several current JeffTran buses are close to the end of their life expectancy. He said city staff wants to see if an electric bus could handle the city's topography.
The division is working with contractor DoubleMap to implement automatic vehicle locator (AVL), automatic voice annunciator (AVA) and automatic passenger counter (APC) equipment to JeffTran.
The AVL allows riders to track the buses' locations, and riders will be able to view the locations on a new mobile app. The new app will update quicker than the current FleetMatics app, will give riders alerts when the bus is a certain time away from their bus stops and will show all buses' locations at the same time.
The new mobile app could debut in January, Mehmert said.
The AVA helps riders with visibility impairments hear announcements about upcoming stops, and signs allow riders with hearing impairments to read announcements. JeffTran administrators can monitor how many riders are boarding and leaving the buses at each location with the APC.
Bogard said while JeffTran did need improvements, she was pleased with it overall.
"I'm just glad of what we have," Bogard said. "Yes, it could be improved - everything could be improved - but I'm glad of what we have because even towns of this population, they don't have the transportation that we have here. Jefferson City is very blessed to have this extra boost to get you somewhere."