If gas prices keep rising, the local public transportation system may have to look at raising its $3 ridership fee, its director said Tuesday.

"We'll evaluate it monthly," said Herb Mullen, director of transportation for Intercounty Public Transportation Authority. "It could be as soon as August or September. We're doing all we can do to hold on.

File photo (ENLARGE)

An InterCounty Public Transportation Authority bus is shown in this file photo from Jan. 31, 2007.

"If it gets to the point where it's costing too much and we'd have to reduce services, I would go to our board and see what they wanted to do."

ICPTA dropped its Elizabeth City fixed loop bus system a couple years ago largely because of low ridership, Mullen said.

It was replaced with a pay-as-you-go system, where riders could travel anywhere in the five-county area for only $3 one-way, or $6 round-trip.

That change has proven popular, with ICPTA's fleet handling up to 400 trips a day now, and 500 a day from fall to spring, when full-time students at College of the Albemarle and Elizabeth City State University ride the buses, he said.

Overall, ridership is up over last year by about 5 percent, Mullen said.

The increase wasn't really that noticeable until about three or four months ago, when gas prices started to skyrocket to over $4 a gallon now, he said.

One of the most popular round-trips is bus rides to and from the new Wal-Mart Supercenter at Tanglewood, which opened a year and a half ago about five miles outside of town.

Mullen said ICPTA has been able to keep the one-way fee at $3 even with rising gas prices because the state, whose goal is to increase public transit, pays up to 90 percent of that fee.

"Fiscally, we have to be responsible with our funds," Mullen said.

That means if gas prices continue to rise and state funds don't rise accordingly, then service will have to be cut or fees increased, he said.

He said many larger cities are experiencing greater increases in ridership, primarily because they have fixed routes that riders use as their primary mode of transportation.

In general, public transit ridership is up for two reasons, he said. First, rising gas prices make riding a bus cheaper. Second, more people than ever want to help the environment by cutting the number of cars on roads, thereby reducing air pollution.

In rural areas, like ICPTA's five-county region, there are few fixed routes and it's pay as you go, he said.

Residents who live in Elizabeth can call and receive service the same day. But outside the city, residents of Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden and Currituck counties must call 48 hours in advance, he said.

Whether the trip is one mile or 30 miles, the same fees apply, he said.

ICPTA has 27 operating vehicles, 21 of which are on the road on any given day. An average of six vehicles undergo maintenance, he said.

Contact Bob Montgomery at

bmontgomery@coxnc.com