Libs learn about price elasticity-----How many hundred thousand bus rides The Rapid is down since 16-percent fare hike

How many hundred thousand bus rides The Rapid is down since 16-percent fare hike | MLive.com: "KENT COUNTY, MI – Fixed-route bus rides were down 7 percent in the first six months since The Rapid increased fares last fall.
Ridership already had been trending down from a record high, off 1.8 percent in the fiscal year that ended in September 2015.
Since a 16-percent fare hike took effect in October, that ridership decline has accelerated.
Quarterly data reviewed by the transit agency's board shows a 4-percent drop in rides from January through March, compared to the first three months of 2015.
Combined with a 10-percent drop during the last three months of last year, fixed-route ridership is down 7.2 percent over the first half of the Rapid's 2016 fiscal year.
That's a decline of 316,661 rides.
"We knew that with a fare increase that we could expect a (decline)," Rapid spokeswoman Jennifer Kalczuk said.
"Generally, that's what happens when you raise fares. There's a dip in ridership.""