In July, 108,284 people rode buses, marking the first time ever that ridership reached six digits. Last month's ridership is up 50.2 percent over July 2007, when it was 72,103.

"With fuel prices continuing to fluctuate, more and more people are choosing to help their budgets and give transit a try," Triangle Transit Board Chairman Sig Hutchinson said in a news release. "Our service improvements, including the recent addition of service in Wake Forest, are having a positive impact."

This is the fourth straight month of ridership gains, the release said. Ridership in April rose 20.5 percent over April 2007, with 83,926 riders. May's ridership topped 85,652 for a gain of 14.5 percent over May 2007. During June, Triangle Transit's bus and shuttle service recorded ridership of 97,172, an increase of 30.2 percent over June 2007's ridership of 74,622.

Capital Area Transit buses also reached record ridership in Raleigh.

In July, CAT counted more than 422,000 passenger trips, more than in any single month of ridership recorded by CAT in recent decades.

July's total represents a 24 percent increase in CAT ridership over the previous July and a 6.4 percent increase in ridership from June, according to the news release.

Triangle Transit provides bus service to Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Garner, Hillsborough, Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Research Triangle Park, Raleigh and Wake Forest.

For more information, visit www.triangletransit.org or call 485-RIDE.

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