Buses are running, but who's riding?

The blue and red Worcester Regional Transit Authority bus heading toward the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley approached the Northbridge Town Common precisely at 9:25 a.m., right on schedule. The driver pulled over to let on the reporter, who flagged him down.

The bus, which follows Route A of the new regional public transit service running from the Whitinsville Walmart through Northbridge and Grafton to the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury, was otherwise empty.

No one else got on through Plummer's Corner, where the bus turned north onto Route 122.

Finally, Lynn Courville of Northbridge embarked in the Rockdale section of town, heading to the Shoppes.

"I don't have transportation. My father had read it in the newspaper and told me about it (the bus). I'm really happy about it," she said. "I'm just glad that they have this one out here because they don't have taxis or anything."

The Route B bus, which goes through Whitinsville to the Grafton Common and MBTA train station, was also empty when it drove by.

Regional bus service through Northbridge and Grafton kicked off in mid-December, but despite public outreach, ridership is light.

Route A, which makes five round trips a day, had 68 riders in December and 77 riders in January and Route B, with 12 round trips a day, had 69 riders in December and 97 in January, according to Jonathan Church, transportation planner with the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission. Buses run Monday through Friday.

A shuttle from the Westboro MBTA station to the town center and area office parks also recently launched, with similarly light ridership. That route had 51 riders in December and 108 in January.

"Because it's such a new service, it takes people a while to get out of old habits," Mr. Church said.

Service from Southbridge to the Auburn Mall, which recently expanded to Worcester, started out slowly in January 2013, with 75 riders. It hit 978 riders its second month and had about 2,000 riders a month for the rest of 2013, according to CMRPC reports. Seven round trips run weekdays.

Margaret Morrissey, director of Jacob Edwards Library in Southbridge, said, "It was amazing how quickly this service took off."

She attributed the Southbridge route's success partly to the opening of Quinsigamond Community College's satellite campus a few years ago. The Wi-Fi-equipped bus lets students easily commute to the main campus in Worcester.

"It really helps the economic development in Southbridge," Ms. Morrissey said. "We're right on the track now."

The library acts almost as a second hub, too, with a tracking monitor inside so people can see when their bus is arriving.

Still, starting a bus route presents a challenge in marketing a new public service, particularly in suburbs and small towns where the automobile is a way of life.

Leonard K. Harmon, assistant professor of marketing at Nichols College in Dudley, said public services are typically developed based on population data but, "Like a lot of public works, there's the belief that if you build it, they will come."

Mr. Harmon said service managers need to identify their target market — Is it the elderly? Parents with children? Working commuters? And then define what problem they're trying to solve.

He said many companies now focus on marketing to population segments based on behavior, rather than pigeonholing people in broad age groups.

Once you know your audience, Mr. Harmon said, it's easier to communicate with it. Social media testimonials are particularly effective.

"Social media is an accelerant," he said.

For town officials bordering MBTA lines, it's a matter of finally getting a local benefit for something they'd long been paying for.

Northbridge Town Manager Theodore D. Kozak and Grafton Town Administrator Timothy P. McInerney said the bus service isn't adding costs. Each town was assessed slightly more than $100,000 annually by the state because it hosts or is contiguous to a town with an MBTA commuter rail station. The money went to the MBTA in Boston.

With the bus service, about $70,000 of that assessment now goes to the WRTA.

"The advantage of this is the town gets the bus service, which it hasn't had in 30 years," Mr. Kozak said.

Northbridge features bus information on its town website, its Facebook page, at Town Hall, the library, the Housing Authority, at the Senior Center and on local access cable television.

"They said it takes a little time for people to get used to it," Mr. Kozak said. "I know people have called about it."

"I think it's going to take time. It's not something you wake up and say, 'I think I'll take the bus today,'" Mr. McInerney said.

Mr. McInerney said the benefits for Blackstone Valley residents who don't all drive include increased job opportunities along the corridor from Whitinsville to Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, at the Shoppes, and in other communities served by trains and buses that the new bus routes connect to.

"I think it's a component of economic development," Mr. McInerney said.

The Route A bus driver, Jose Rivera, agreed that even though the bus isn't heavily used yet, it is an important service.

"I especially like to help the elders, people with disabilities," Mr. Rivera said.

"There's a lot of people that don't have cars. We go in all weather. We have to help the people out."

Mr. Church said the planning commission held public meetings and collected surveys over the past year on who would use the bus and why.

"We had a lot of people who responded they wanted to get to the train station in Grafton, they wanted to get to the Shoppes," he said. "We're marketing to seniors, those who may not own vehicles and younger people who don't have licenses."

Mr. Church said the schedule had a hitch when the MBTA commuter rail schedule didn't change as planned in late January; but the WRTA will adjust when the new schedule is out so people can take the bus to and from the train in Grafton and Westboro.

"It's varied enough (in ridership) that we don't see anything that's a total slam dunk, but we give it a good year to look at it. Sometimes these take time," he said.

WRTA Administrator Stephen O'Neil said his group has been working with employers, the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce and Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce to develop and market the service.

"People there said these are some things we've been talking about for years," Mr. O'Neil said. "It may be we'll have to do some more face-to-face."

Corridor Nine President Barbara Clifford said the chamber has promoted the Westboro train shuttle service to its members through emails and mailings and had a meeting last summer with its biggest employers, including BJs Wholesale Club and EMC. Schedule changes will be broadcast to members.

Blackstone Valley residents having breakfast in Church Street eateries last week were barely aware of the bus service.

Peg Gagner, who runs Peg's Diner, said, "I don't see anybody on them. I don't think people are aware of what they can do."

She said she had only one customer who had ridden the bus.

Builder and Board of Assessors member Denis Latour asked: "What is the schedule? Where do they stop?"

He thought the buses would be good for kids to ride to the Shoppes and go to the movies.

He added: "It's a tough thing to operate a business like that. What's your customer base?"

"It's the first I've heard about it," said Paulette Ruth, owner of the Valley Café.

Her customers Bates and Linda Carter, of Sutton, said they knew it existed but wouldn't ride because they don't live in town.

Mrs. Carter, who grew up in Whitinsville, said: "I remember when there used to be a bus in town (years ago). We'd take it to Worcester. It was wonderful."

Northbridge resident Russell Andrews, who is legally blind but walks places or gets rides, including to the Grafton MBTA station, didn't know about the new bus service.

"Would I use it? Oh yeah, absolutely," Mr. Andrews said. "I'd walk to it (to catch the bus). If I have to, I can get there."

Contact Susan Spencer at susan.spencer@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG