Leland traffic not slowing down bus routes

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Traffic from Leland to Wilmington this morning was better than it’s been, but there’s still no relief in sight. But did you know you could let someone else do the driving?

If you’re heading to Wilmington from Leland you have a few options. You can drive, carpool, or take the bus. So, would you ride the bus to avoid sitting in your car waiting for traffic to move?

“Probably not,” Britt Pridgen said.

Pridgen says he would not want to wait on a bus.

“When I decide I want to go somewhere, I want to get in my car and go,” Pridgen said.

But Peggy Hoffman says it’s better than sitting in a line of cars worrying whether you will even make it to your destination on time, or at all.

“Just to beat the traffic and not have to worry about running out of gas or anything as you’re sitting in the traffic,” Hoffman said.

And she’s not the only one who wouldn’t mind riding the bus.

“Yes, yes I surely would,” Charles McMahon said. “There is no question about that.”

Wave transit director of planning and development Megan Matheny says since construction to widen the causeway began, route 204 has not missed any trips or had any complaints.

And bus rider Ronnie Pinkerton says he has not seen any problems so far.

“I think the bus is running fairly well,” Pinkerton said. “I mean, this line right here is not as busy as some of the other lines but unless there is an accident on this construction zone over here, it runs pretty good, and it runs on time.”

Matheny says ridership has gone up, but she says that is mostly due to the beginning of the school year. She says an average of 9 bus trips an hour keeps about 9 vehicles off the roadways. On average, she says this bus completes 107 trips per day.