Program for Free Rides on Late Buses Called a Success : Transit: The RTD says it gave away 59,000 passenger trips last month, far fewer than it had expected.

The RTD’s new program of letting passengers ride free if their buses are more than 15 minutes late was declared a major success Wednesday by bus system officials who say they gave 59,000 free rides last month--far fewer than they expected when they adopted the novel policy.

“We carried in September close to 34 million passengers and we only gave close to 60,000 free rides,” boasted Nikolas Patsaouras, board president of the Southern California Rapid Transit District. “That translates to 0.18 of 1%--phenomenal.”

Before the free-ride program began Sept. 1, the RTD predicted that drivers might be handing out up to $600,000 a month in free fares, based on the percentage of bus runs that are typically more than 15 minutes late in the countywide system. By contrast, only about $61,000 worth of the $1.10 fares was claimed by passengers complaining of tardiness last month.

But it was unclear whether the lower-than-expected free-ride rate could be attributed to more timely buses or to simple lack of interest on the part of passengers who, when questioned in press interviews about the program, often seemed ignorant of it or unsure how to take advantage of it.

“There are so many buses, I don’t know which one is late,” said one confused passenger last month after the new policy went into effect.

Under the program, passengers who would normally pay cash are allowed to board free if the bus is late. Those with monthly passes are supposed to get the driver to punch a warranty card for end-of-the-month cash refunds.

A bus stop survey taken early this summer indicated that about 2.5% of the system’s daily runs were at least 15 minutes late, said RTD spokesman Greg Davy. But no new numbers were available to show whether that figure had improved last month.

Nonetheless, Davy defended the claims of success made at a downtown press conference.

“Nick’s main point today is that the perception that RTD buses are always late is incorrect and he feels the first month of this program shows that,” Davy said. “He’s not saying no buses are late.”

The free rides are part of a major public relations campaign on the part of Patsaouras, who in July unveiled a Transit Rider Bill of Rights, guaranteeing RTD passengers good service and a safe journey.

Not everyone has been impressed. Veteran RTD Director Charles Storing criticized the free-ride proposal when it was first made and said Wednesday that he still doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

“I hate to see anybody have to wait for a bus,” Storing said. “But there are just so many situations that cause this that I don’t feel RTD should be punished for circumstances beyond its control.”

A spokesman for the bus drivers union, which had initially expressed concerns about the new policy, was more favorable.

“So far it’s gone fairly well,” said Goldy Norton, public relations representative of the United Transportation Union. “It has not to our knowledge had any great impact on our drivers.”

Patsaouras said the cost of the free-fares program--which will be continued until the end of the year on a trial basis--has been offset by ridership increases. Yet while ridership rose by about 60,000 between August and September of this year, it is only up about 30,000, or 2%, when compared with September of last year. And that, district planners say, is statistically insignificant, since the numbers are subject to a 10% margin of error.