A year ago, between 70 and 80 people would line up each Sunday morning to catch the 8 a.m. bus from downtown Lancaster to Lincoln Highway East.

Red Rose Transit Authority added a second bus to accommodate the crowd.

A year later, the crowd is gone. RRTA runs one bus. It is half-full.

"It's a shame. We've been doing real well for a couple years. The economy has really pulled the rug out from under us," RRTA executive director David Kilmer told his board Wednesday night.

The county's public bus line reported a 15.6 percent drop in ridership of its fixed-route buses last month. The August decline followed a 15.2 percent drop in July.

Together, those numbers represent 54,316 fewer bus passengers at the start of RRTA's fiscal year.

Kilmer, who said he doesn't remember seeing such a sharp decline, blamed high unemployment from the national economic slump.

The route with the emptiest buses are those going to Lincoln Highway East. The poor economy has meant fewer people shopping at outlet stores, eating at the restaurants on the retail strip and fewer tourists staying at the hotels. That has resulted in fewer people riding the bus to retail, restaurant and hotel jobs.

The buses going to the businesses of the Greenfield Corporate Center show the next largest loss in ridership, Kilmer said.

The county's 7.4 percent jobless rate in July is the highest in 26 years, the state Department of Labor & Industry recently reported.

RRTA is not hurting yet, Kilmer said. The transit agency had revenue last month of $673,386. Combined with grant funding of $463,709, RRTA managed to clear $5,797 for the month.

But, he told the board, "I'm not sure how much longer we will be able to go before we have to decide whether we want to borrow money to continue the service" or cut bus trips, he said.

Kilmer said he is reluctant to cut service because that would hurt low-income riders who depend on RRTA. Those riders are already in a financially tenuous situation, he said.

And he ruled out a fare increase.

"You don't do fare increases when your ridership is down double digits," Kilmer said. To do so would chase away many remaining riders, he predicted.

Kilmer said he would likely take the problem to his board next month.

"Hopefully it will turn around soon," he said of the economy.

Yet, in the short term, the numbers won't look good.

Next month, Kilmer will be presenting ridership numbers for September. Those will be compared to September 2008. That month, RRTA did a 25-cent ride promotion and saw a 37 percent spike in riders.

That comparison assures a double-digit drop for the third consecutive month.

• Also on Wednesday, Kilmer announced that construction companies that were awarded $15 million in contracts to build the combination bus station and art museum expansions and parking garage at North Queen and East Chestnut streets were given formal notice to proceed on Monday.

That work, and the $5.9 million renovation of RRTA's Erick Road administrative and maintenance facility, should begin by the end of the month.

E-mail: bharris@lnpnews.com