Business View Magazine - April 2024

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Matt Pentz, and Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling led the festivities, with the event featuring a prominent local congressional delegation and former NTD CEO Lou Schulman. The celebration was highlighted by an Official Citation from the State of Connecticut General Assembly, presented by State Senators Bob Duff and Maher, and State Representatives Tracy Marra and Dominique Johnson. The citation recognized Norwalk’s “Momentous Occasion of Your 50th Anniversary Of Providing Valuable Transportation Options to Norwalk And Surrounding Communities.” The Norwalk Transit System’s journey began in 1978, stepping in to fill the void left by the Connecticut Company. Over the years, it has become a model of efficiency, extending services beyond municipal borders, and offering door-to-door services for those with specialized transportation needs. Despite facing challenges, the NTD has evolved, maintaining the pulse-point system at the heart of Norwalk’s transit network, and continuing to adapt to changing needs. SURPASSING RIDERSHIP RECORDS Public transit ridership in the United States has experienced fluctuations over the years. During the pandemic, ridership plummeted, but as vaccination rates increased and restrictions eased, there has been a gradual recovery. As of July 2021, national urban transit ridership reached 40.5% of the pre-pandemic levels from January 2019.The availability of vaccines contributed to this sustained increase, with ridership rising from 42% in April to 53% in July 2021. Established in 1974, Norwalk Transit operates bus routes serving the city and surrounding communities. The daily ridership averages 1 million on the fixed- route system. Notably, on September 22, 2022, Norwalk achieved its highest single-day ridership of 1,275,844 passengers. Additionally, in October 2022, the district surpassed an impressive milestone by serving over 33 billion riders since its start in 1921. While national ridership trends continue to recover, 149 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 04 NORWALK TRANSI T DISTRICT