_Logo.png){kind=logo} | |
| Founded | 1870s |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 502 NP Avenue, Fargo, North Dakota |
| Service area | Fargo–Moorhead |
| Service type | Bus service,paratransit |
| Routes | 19 |
| Fleet | 42[1] |
| Fuel type | Diesel,biodiesel[2] |
| Website | matbus.com |
MATBUS (Fargo Moorhead Metro Area Transit) is apublic transport bus system serving theFargo,North Dakota andMoorhead,Minnesota Metropolitan Area.[3]
Public transport inFargo–Moorhead began in the 1870s, with horse-drawn coaches. In the twentieth century, trolleys and buses were introduced. Trolley tracks can still be seen in some alley ways in Fargo. Increased automobile use and growingurban sprawl caused public transport to decline in the area. Beginning in 1971, transit was partially funded by the government.[4]
In 1974, the Fargo-Moorhead Council of Governments began management of the area's public transit, which was subsequently named MAT. Fargo and Moorhead later took control of their portions of the transit system, but continued cooperation and coordination under the MAT brand.[4]
MATBUS operates 19 fixed routes and two on-demand routes throughout the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. Routes 1 through 9 primarily run inMoorhead andDilworth while routes 11 through 34 primarily run inFargo andWest Fargo.[5] During special events, MATBUS also operates a free shuttle between theFargo andMoorhead downtown areas called LinkFM.[6]
Six MATBUS fixed routes serve theNorth Dakota State University campus during the academic year through an agreement between the university and theCity of Fargo.[7] In January 2018, MATBUS replaced its late-night route onNDSU's campus with an on-demand route called TapRide. The system allows students at the university to request a ride via a smartphone app to and from any location on campus or nearby neighborhoods.[8] In August 2019, a second TapRide route was launched to serve Fargo's industrial park area.[9]
MATBUS ridership totaled 1,867,498 system-wide in 2017, down from 1,931,970 in 2016 (a 3.34% decrease). Ridership on MATBUS has seen significant gains since 1998 when fixed route ridership was 793,228. MATBUS experienced its highest use in 2014 when the total fixed route ridership reached 2,223,701.[14]
Significant ridership on MATBUS comes from area colleges due in part to the system's U-Pass program. Through the program, students atNDSU,MSUM,Concordia,M State, andNDSCS can ride any fixed route in the system for free by using their student ID.[15] In 2017, college ridership accounted for 407,485 rides on MATBUS. Of those 407,485 rides, the majority (346,258) were taken by riders fromNDSU.[14] Fixed routes near the NDSU campus are some of the most-used routes in the MATBUS system.[16]
Ridership on MATBUS paratransit routes in 2017 was 10,907, up from 10,765 in 2016.[14]
The ridership and service statistics shown below are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response. Per capita statistics are based on the Fargo urbanized area as reported in NTD data. Starting in 2011, 2010 census numbers replace the 2000 census numbers to calculate per capita statistics.[17]
| Ridership | Change | Ridership per capita | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 491,484 | n/a | 3.45 |
| 2003 | 412,797 |  16.01% | 2.9 |
| 2004 | 613,024 |  48.5% | 4.3 |
| 2005 | 832,837 | 35.86% | 5.85 |
| 2006 | 881,734 | 5.87% | 6.19 |
| 2007 | 971,217 | 10.15% | 6.82 |
| 2008 | 1,214,805 | 25.08% | 8.53 |
| 2009 | 1,376,136 | 13.28% | 9.66 |
| 2010 | 1,621,133 | 17.8% | 11.38 |
| 2011 | 1,665,221 | 2.72% | 9.43 |
| 2012 | 1,604,693 | 3.63% | 9.08 |
| 2013 | 1,682,267 | 4.83% | 9.52 |
| 2014 | 1,741,524 | 3.52% | 9.86 |
| 2015 | 1,627,916 | 6.52% | 9.21 |
| 2016 | 1,486,051 | 8.71% | 8.41 |
| 2017 | 1,421,294 | 4.36% | 8.04 |
| 2018 | 1,439,017 | 1.25% | 8.14 |
| 2019 | 1,343,534 | 6.64% | 7.6 |
| 2020 | 848,312 | 36.86% | 4.8 |
| 2021 | 786,147 | 7.33% | 4.5 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)