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ASHEBORO — There were few riders on the route’s first two days but, like many good things, PART’s newest commuter service probably needs a little time to hit its stride.

Give it several months for word to spread about how much money and exasperation commuters in Randolph County can save by climbing aboard, said Scott Rhine, programs manager for the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation.

The Asheboro-to-Greensboro route is one of three PART unveiled Monday. The other two link Lexington and Thomasville to High Point and Greensboro on Business 85, and Lexington to Winston-Salem on U.S. 52.

“The really good news from our perspective is that even on the first day, we had some people out there using our park-and-ride lots and taking the bus,” Rhine said of the new routes.

In Asheboro, Monday-through-Friday service starts at 5:40 a.m., at a still unpaved park-and-ride lot on McDowell Road across from the county administration building. The lot is lined with stakes outlining where curb, pavement and a shelter will go.

“It’s supposed to be ready by July 16,” driver Hubert Stanback said of the lot, as he steered along Industrial Drive after the first stop at Randolph Community College. “It’s going to be nice.”

The routes include just a few stops at such places as shopping centers and hospitals, but they will evolve to meet the needs of commuters, Rhine said.

“During the first two or three weeks, we’ll probably make some changes to these routes,” Rhine said. “We’ll get feedback from our riders: It would be good if you stopped here or turned there.”

PART’s highly successful Surry Express is the model for the three new routes. Started in late 2005 between Mount Airy and Winston-Salem, it has grown from two buses at the outset to four now, with discussions under way about adding a fifth bus soon.

“They’re so crowded, we have people standing up. We’ll have 10 to 12 people standing,” said Tonya Hawkins, a PART route specialist who supervised one of Monday afternoon’s runs from Greensboro to Asheboro.

Hawkins should know; she was one of the first drivers on the Surry Express.

And it didn’t take long for the Surry route to prove itself. “They had to add another bus after the first three months,” she said.

Fares on PART’s commuter buses cost $2 each way or $50 a month.

Buses stop at such places as hospitals, RCC and UNCG, and an occasional shopping center.

But they are mainly regional routes, meaning that many commuters to Greensboro would need to catch a second bus at the Douglas Galyon Depot.

But for anyone who doesn’t need a car at work, the savings can be significant in fuel costs alone, even more so considering such additional factors as vehicle wear and tear, parking fees and depreciation.

In fuel alone, the roughly 30 miles between the McDowell Road lot and Greensboro’s downtown would cost the average commuter more than a gallon of fuel each way — or more than $8 in gas, even for someone driving a relatively fuel-efficient vehicle.

“People are smart,” Rhine said.

“They realize they’re going to get on the bus and maybe read that report so they’re ready for the 9 a.m. meeting. Your productivity is going to go up.”

The battle to get commuters out of their single-occupant cars and onto a regional bus is being won one motorist at a time, he said.

“It’s just a matter of giving it a try, just once,” Rhine said. “You see how convenient it is. ... ”

Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or taft.wireback@news-record.com