VALPARAISO | The first month of bus service averaged 81 passengers a day with little advertising, so Ryan Landers is optimistic the service will reach its first-year goal of about 5,000 passengers a month.

Landers, general manager of McDonald Transit Associates, which is operating the V-Line bus service for the city, said the 2,198 passengers for October on the three city routes and the shuttle service to the South Shore commuter rail line's Dune Park station shows "people really want to make this work."

"We are always growing. That's the good thing about it," he said. "A lot of Valparaiso University students are starting to use the city routes as well to get to Kmart or other areas of the city. Once people learn how to ride the city routes, they will make it their transportation."

The Yellow Route had a peak of 169 riders during the third week and finished the month with a total of 496 passengers. The Green Route had 90 riders the first week, then carried more than 130 each week for the rest of the month for a total of 634. The Brown Route (serving VU) had 244 riders the final full week of the month for a total of 868.

The shuttle, which only operates Friday, Saturday and Sunday, had 104 riders on the final weekend bringing the total for the month to 200. Although most of the riders were VU students, McDonald reported 21 others also used the shuttle in that final weekend.

"We're already seeing changes within the first seven days this month, so ridership will be up," Landers said.

The only problem has been keeping personnel. He said some of the drivers have such a long commute and only work part-time, so they aren't making enough to make it worth the drive. He said the company is looking at ways to improve employee retention. The company and the city are also considering changes in the routes.

Assistant City Planner Tyler Kent said the changes could come after the first of January and will include stops on Lincolnway. The lack of stops there has been one of the criticisms of the new service. Kent said the city is looking for stops that won't interfere with parking or affect merchants.

An ad campaign will begin next week that will include maps showing the routes. Kent said he hopes the rising gasoline prices will also mean a rise in ridership.

The increase in gasoline prices is a double-edged sword because the city has to pay for the cost to fuel the buses on top of the cost for operating them. Landers said the four buses serving the routes have to be filled once each day, and it costs $90 to $95 for a fill-up at current prices. That comes to about $10,000 for October.