In June, Ozark Regional Transit provided 3,386 bus rides in Bentonville, averaging about 161 rides per service day.

While that’s a small number of rides compared to Bentonville’s population, it’s more than four times higher than the same month last year.

Ozark Regional Transit Executive Director Joel Gardner mainly attributes the steep increase in ridership to improved collaboration between city governments in Bentonville and Rogers.

Both cities help fund the transit system and had previously required routes to begin and end within their boundaries, ensuring their contributions only supported service inside their respective city limits.

Last year, that changed, which Gardner called a “fricking rock solid decision.” Instead of being restricted by individual city fiefdoms, riders can now take a single bus between Rogers and Bentonville.

Gardner also credited better digital marketing and more frequent pickups along fewer routes as additional reasons for the increase in ridership.

Buses run Monday through Friday and are free to ride. Several routes serve Bentonville, and an I-49 route connects to buses in Springdale and Fayetteville.

Maintaining bus service in Bentonville this year is estimated to cost $1,601,207, with the city covering 35% of that total.

Ozark Regional Transit also offers an Uber-like rideshare service that operates Monday through Saturday, providing rides that begin and end within Bentonville.

The on-demand service is far cheaper than Uber at $1.25 per ride, but also far less reliable — 59% of ride requests so far this year have been denied due to limited capacity.

Gardner considers the current rideshare service a stepping stone to expand public transit service, but one that should ultimately lead to more fixed routes.

“The only thing I can say about our on-demand is yes, people will want more of it, but I’m not here to do an Uber or taxi service, I’m here to provide public transportation,” he said.

To him, ideal public transit is “fixed route, regularity, always being safe, always being on time.”

View more ridership data from the first half of the year from Ozark Regional Transit here.

For help planning a trip, Ozark Regional Transit recommends using the Citymapper, which is available as a website and phone app.