Regional leaders met in Manhattan City Hall Thursday afternoon for their monthly joint City/County/County meeting.
Representatives from the City of Manhattan and the Riley County and Pottawatomie County Commissions heard presentations that discussed transportation in the region.
Gary Stith, the executive director of the Flint Hills Regional Transit Administration gave a remedial overview of what the group does while Brad Rognlie of the Kansas Department of Transportation Bureau of Structures followed suit.
Meanwhile, Ann Smith, the director of the Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency, updated leaders on aTa Bus and its incredible growth.
“Our ridership in fiscal year 2015, which for us ended in June this year, was in excess of 400,000 rides,” Smith said. “Just as a reminder, seven to eight years ago in 2007 that annual number was 21,512 rides.”
Smith also said a partnership with K-State’s Seaton Hall — which will soon be undergoing massive reconstruction — will test what she believes will be a key route.
Smith said the deal includes taking students to Manhattan Regional Airport while the new Seaton Hall is constructed.
“I think that’s a real opportunity to test the viability of a potentially fixed-route service to and from the airport,” she said.
