To get to work on East Clay Street from North Vicksburg one rainy morning this month, two young women rode one of Vicksburg’s new buses.

The women’s trips were among 971 that had been taken during about the first half of November on NRoute, the city’s transportation system that began about five months ago, on June 26.

NRoute’s busiest month so far has been August, when 1,925 trips were recorded.

Projections for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 call for the system to have between 2,500 and 3,000 trips a month, director Evelyn Bumpers said.

&#8220It’s a process of getting the public educated,” Bumpers said. &#8220Word-of-mouth is what’s selling the system now.”

The women’s route required a bus change and layover at the downtown hub, next to Walnut Towers parking garage, beginning about 7:20 a.m. Rather than wait there in the rain, however, they simply stayed on the bus they were on, driven by Maxine Davenport, and made her 20-minute circuit before catching their next bus.

During that circuit, Davenport kept on the lookout for passengers waiting to board at designated stops but found none.

&#8220You have to be outside,” Davenport said of passengers waiting to board at places such as medical offices on Mission 66. &#8220I’ll pull up in there and get them.”

Riders don’t have to get off the bus only at designated stops, Davenport said. They can alert drivers that they want to exit anywhere along a designated route by pulling an overhead cord, she said.

While driving through the area between Washington and Drummond streets, Davenport noted she has regular passengers who live nearby. One frequents local casinos and another takes the bus to work at a McDonald’s, she said.

&#8220I think he may have changed shifts now,” Davenport said, adding that she gets to know her regular riders’ schedules.

For riders who pay full price, fares are $1.50 each way. A 25-cent fee is charged for each transfer between buses. Senior citizens pay 75 cents with no transfer fee.

No rides are free for those who can’t pay, but the city hopes to be able to provide vouchers for them shortly, Bumpers said. Most of the system’s riders are people going to work or to doctors’ appointments, she said.

Round-trip cab fare between central Vicksburg and River Region Medical Center can cost $16 while a senior citizen, for example, can make the trip on NRoute for $1.50, Davenport said.

Despite that competition, at least one Vicksburg taxi company owner has said his business remains good and, since NRoute began, a former cab company has sought and received city permits to resume operation.

&#8220My business is good,” J&B Cab owner James Buie told members of the city committee that regulates taxi service during its regular meeting this month.

The women commuters’ ride, counting its layover, was to take them about an hour one-way, but they didn’t seem to mind. One said she had a car that was being repaired but even after she gets it out of the shop she may continue to take the bus, to save money on gas, she said.

Rain shelters are due to be placed at each stop shortly, Bumpers said.

The system began in June and has six, 20-seat buses. It is paid for mainly with federal grant money. In April, the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen authorized spending $237,790 to get the system up and running.

During each of its four full months in operation the system has received between $1,526 and $2,199 in fare revenue. During this current fiscal year, those numbers are expected to grow to an average of $3,750 a month, Bumpers said.

Plans were for a five-person board to be established to administer NRoute, Bumpers said. People who would serve on such a board have been identified but the board itself has yet to be assembled, Bumpers said.

In the meantime, NRoute operates as its own city department with eight employees, including Bumpers. For now, the city government funds NRoute month-by-month, Bumpers said.

Buie complained to the transportation committee that a former employee of his now drives for NRoute and that he was seen picking up an acquaintance of Buie’s and taking her to a stop that is not on a bus route, in apparent door-to-door service.

Bumpers said such a service is provided by NRoute as part of its contract for receiving federal grant money. The service is called para-transit and is for disabled people, she said. It provides door-to-door service, and each trip costs $3, Bumpers said.

&#8220It looks like a taxi service, but it’s not,” Bumpers said.

Davenport said she thinks the transportation the system is providing is increasing opportunities for people to accept jobs. The city’s decision to seek the grant money and commit local funds followed a Chamber of Commerce study indicating a need for the buses, especially in census tracts with high unemployment rates and relatively few personal vehicles.