Arkansas Transit began the week of Sept. 10-14 with modifications in routes 17 and 21, and some slight changes are now being implemented in route 44 as well.

It is not unusual to make adjustments in bus routes, particularly at the beginning of a school year.

Changes are made as a result of listening to passengers or examining the data as it pertains to route frequencies and passenger counts.

Adam Waddell, assistant director of transit and parking, who oversees transit operations, said modifications are made to provide better service.

"We try and place our resources where it will do the most good," he said. "but sometimes we have to make adjustments based upon the information that comes to us."

Sometimes instead of making a change, a route simply gets some relief, meaning Transit will run buses with more frequency on a route when an area is busy enough to justify the decision.

Sometimes riders will question changes but Waddell explained that they are implemented to improve frequency during peak service times.

"Under-utilized routes are adjusted," he said, "so that higher performing and more heavily utilized routes can be properly equipped with resources."

Waddell said that such updates are made in response to customer feedback.

The revised version of route 44 can be seen at https://parking.uark.edu/_resources/documents/Transit/Route-44.pdf

The latest information for routes is always available at https://parking.uark.edu/transit-services/transit-operations/maps-and-schedules.php