Customers utilized more than 177,000 trips in 2012 on the I-BUS Express route connecting Stamford, Conn., and White Plains, N.Y. This new record-ridership strongly exceeds the 2011 count of nearly 168,000 trips and reflects steady year-after-year growth for the interstate express bus service, which began in the summer of 1996.

In 1997, the first full year of operation, just fewer than 59,000 trips were taken on the I-BUS. As it marked 10 years of service, that number had grown to over 137,000. The newly tallied ridership statistics reflect a 6% increase between 2011 and 2012 and a 200% improvement since the creation of the I-BUS route. With sustained high gas prices, public transit ridership is strong nationwide. The one-way cash fare for the I-BUS is an economical $2.60.

The I-BUS Express is a public service of the Connecticut and New York State Departments of Transportation, operated by CTTRANSIT, in cooperation with the Westchester County Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad.

The I-BUS provides a seven day a week interstate express services linking downtown Stamford and the Transportation Center there with the TransCenter in White Plains.

Over the 16 years the express route has operated, enhancements have been made to meet customer demand, including longer hours of service, weekend trips and adjustments to improve transfers. The I-BUS schedule was recently augmented in January 2013 with two more trips on Saturday mornings.