Ridership is up 29 percent on the Burlington-Montpelier commuter bus.

Meredith Birkett of the Chittenden County Transportation Authority says she can't say for sure why more people are riding the bus, but the numbers are making the case to add another round trip.

But riders say it's the cost of gasoline and the convenience that is prompting them to take the bus.

The Montpelier-Burlington Link includes six round trips a day.

The routes are funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Improvement Program.

This January there was a record 5,000 riders on the route.