Tecumseh Transit Service saw a ridership jump in 2021.
According to a staff report going before council on Tuesday night, ridership increased 12 per cent compared to 2020.
14,668 people used the service last year, while about 13,021 used it in 2020.
Mayor Gary McNamara says the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the service over the last couple of years.
"We haven't reached the pre-pandemic numbers," McNamara continued. "They are on the rise, but we still have a ways to go yet."
He thinks with rising fuel prices, more people will ride the bus more often moving forward.
"Transit is I think very important in particular now moving forward with price of fuel at $2 a litre. I think there's going to be a higher demand obviously certainly for transit."
McNamara believes council will discuss the reintroduction of fees this evening.
"As we move gradually out of the pandemic and at some point in time, the reintroduction of fees to the system will have to take place," he said.
The town waived all transit fees for users on March 23, 2020 to September 8, 2020 and then again from December 19, 2020 to now.
Council is being asked to continue the elimination of the fees until March 28, 2022.
Tecumseh transit is in its 13th year and operates on a circuitous route with a one-hour headway covering 30 kilometres and 43 stops.
The staff report states, "in the years prior to the pandemic, the service maintained an annual ridership of between 26,000 and 29,000."