CARTA officials said ridership on the shuttle was down 6,600 passengers during this year's Riverbend Festival as compared to the prior year.
Lisa Maragnano, CARTA, said, "The crowds seemed lighter on the nights that I went."
Amy Morrow, marketing director for Friends of the Festival, did not give out attendance numbers, but said, "Extreme heat and rain did have an impact. Some nights we did see smaller crowds or a dip in attendance."
CARTA board members noted that at one time CARTA provided a park and ride program for the Riverbend Festival.
Steve Jett, board chairman, said that was halted when Friends of the Festival stopped paying for it.
Ms. Morrow said, "Several years ago, Riverbend instituted a system essentially contracting a group who uses school buses to shuttle folks at a rate of $1 per person. That plan was in response to the changing CARTA schedule. When CARTA limited hours to 7:30 for the downtown shuttle is when the school bus system was put into place. It has continued because, while the downtown shuttle runs until 11 p.m. currently, that’s the time the final Coke Stage act is ending and cuts it too close for those leaving to catch CARTA."