Paul Kirby reports for the Daily Freeman one year after free bus rides began, ridership is up 39 percent compared to the same time period the year before on Ulster County Area Transit buses. Ridership rose from 277,211 riders in 2022, to 384,307 riders this year. Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said, “Since the introduction of fareless service on our UCAT buses, we continue to see our ridership rates grow, which is a strong testament to the need for this affordable service in our communities.... In this time of high household expenses, any extra money in folks’ pockets can really make a difference. Higher ridership also means more state funding for our bus service since this funding is directly tied to ridership levels.” The county was already losing money from fares, as totals dropped from $409,640 in 2015 to $163,272 in 2021. It cost $6.39 million to run Ulster County buses in 2021. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.