GULFPORT, Miss. (WPMI) - Coast Transit Authority set a record in 2011 by providing 1 million rides and topped it again in 2012.
Executive Director Kevin Coggin tells The Sun Herald last year the authority logged 1,090,000 rides.
Coggin says CTA has funding to build a new transportation hub in D'Iberville and wants to partner with the Mississippi Department of Transportation to create park-and-ride facilities along Interstate 10.
Short term, Coggin says the system will require more local government contributions. The average government funding for transit systems is 51 percent. CTA receives 21 percent of its budget from local governments.
Long term, he says the system that serves a very diverse population of seniors, commuters, tourists, military and disabled needs some sort of dedicated fee to support transit.
