Even though numbers are rising, NRoute remains an expensive proposition for the people of Vicksburg. More efforts should be made to court fare-paying riders.

At their December meeting, members of the Vicksburg Transportation Commission were told that December 2008 boardings would reach a record 5,000. That’s up, substantially, from December 2007 when 2,500 fares were counted. Our math says that’s a doubling and that’s significant by any measure. But it also reflects addition of two routes (to nine) and adding Saturday as an operational day for the van-based transit system launched in June 2005.

Reduced to the basics, it means 21 passengers per bus per operational day or about less than one new fare on each bus every 30 minutes. And for each boarding, taxpayers, who fronted more than $1 million in start-up expenses, also cover about 90 percent of the cost for fuel, drivers, insurance and maintenance.

Evelyn Bumpers, director of the system from its inception, pointed to the record December and a monthly average of 3,000 riders for all of 2008 as a sign of continuing progress. But, she said, there’s more to be done. “I’ve always said if we could get 5,000 per month we would be very successful,” Bumpers told the transportation commission.

Actually, numbers should rise beyond that point.

If the Amtrak shuttle between New York City and Washington, D.C., requires a subsidy — which it does — then there’s no reason to believe a transit system in Vicksburg will ever break even. Indeed, full vans here all day every day would probably not generate enough cash for NRoute to pay its own overhead. That especially will be true when fuel prices rise again, as they are sure to do.

Many Mississippi municipalities, including Tupelo, have shelved public transit as far too costly. But Vicksburg, frankly, can afford to do more than other cities, mostly because the local treasury is plumped by casino dollars.

Still, every continued effort needs to be made to popularize NRoute. Tailoring the transit system so that more will find it useful and convenient must be an ongoing process.