ORT ridership breaks record in 2025

Springdale-based transit provider Ozark Regional Transit has announced that it reached record ridership in 2025, exceeding the previous high set in 2016.

ORT exceeded the 2016 record of 319,060 on Dec. 4. As of Dec. 5, total ridership was 320,003. The number included 239,884 for fixed-route transit, 66,853 for on-demand transit and 13,266 for paratransit.

Asked what he attributed the record to, Executive Director Joel Gardner said, “We have done a much better job of saturating the area of the new [Walmart] Home Office with transit options. We have also begun to provide some fixed-route services on Saturdays in Fayetteville. Overall, we are beginning to act like a real transit system providing services to anyone that wants to move between home, office, entertainment and medical service that don’t want to use their own [privately-owned vehicle].”

With the remaining working days of the year, Gardner hoped to add another 20,000 passengers to the record number.

Between January and November, total ridership rose by 9% to 314,644 from 288,582 in the same period last year. In November, ridership increased by 0.3% to 27,148 from 27,076 in the same month last year.

In 2024, ORT’s total ridership surpassed 300,000 passengers for the first time since 2016, rising by 15.8% to 315,027 from 272,023 in 2023. In 2016, the record year, ridership increased to 319,060 from 317,448 in 2015. Ridership also exceeded 300,000 in 2014.