WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — While many public transit systems across the country are still working to regain pre-pandemic ridership levels, the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA) has already surpassed them.

“We’ve had about a 17 percent increase in ridership in the past two years,” said Matthew Scalia, Executive Director of WATA.

Scalia explained that what makes this achievement even more impressive is that the system hasn’t fully restored its pre-COVID operating hours. Before the pandemic, buses ran later into the evening and had more frequent service on certain routes, including the popular Route 3 along Merrimac Trail.

Despite that, ridership continues to climb, thanks in part to several upgrades designed to make public transit more accessible and convenient.

One of the biggest proj

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