As gas prices remain at all-time highs for the forseeable future, that might mean more fare revenue for the public bus service in Nevada County. It’s been a difficult two years for Nevada County Connects, because of the pandemic. Transit Services Manager, Robin Van Valkenburgh, says although ridership is starting to recover, up 21-percent from a year ago, that’s still only about half of what it was pre-pandemic, at around eight-thousand passenger trips a month. But he says the loosening of coronavirus restrictions should help…

click to listen to Robin Van Valkenburgh

But Van Valkenburgh says because of lagging ridership all over California during the pandemic, the state rescinded the requirement that 10-percent of their budget had to come from passenger revenue…

click to listen to Robin Van Valkenburgh

Van Valkenburgh says the pandemic has also distilled ridership down to mostly people who have no vehicles.