Six months after a historic overhaul, Houston's bus system is experiencing some ups and downs.

Ridership is up. Fare revenue is down.

Against this backdrop, the first significant changes to the Metropolitan Transit Authority's new bus system, which launched in August, take effect Sunday. Many are minor, such as moving up start times for certain routes, but they could have major effects on riders' trips.

The more significant changes focus on expanding service. The Route 82 Westheimer bus, which has the system's highest ridership by far, will arrive every six minutes rather than every eight minutes at peak periods. That puts it on the same frequency as the Red Line light rail service and establishes it as a de facto east-west backbone of the system.

Metro leaders hope more frequent service on popular routes will build on the ridership gains the system is experiencing.

"I think as you get higher frequency and people know it is going to come, we are going to see higher ridership," Metro CEO Tom Lambert told board members Wednesday.

In November, the last full month with verified ridership information, average weekday ridership was up 8 percent compared to the same month in 2014. Sunday ridership - more weekend service was a centerpiece of the bus changes - increased 30 percent to more than 114,000 average boardings.

The comparisons are problematic, however, because they involve different bus systems. Metro officials say they do not believe figures are skewed as a result of the new system requiring more transfers, a criticism skeptics have voiced since the bus network change.

At the same time, Metro is collecting less money from riders, as a result of changes in policy and fewer commuters than expected using park and ride service. From September to December, the first full four months under the new bus system, fare revenue was $1 million below 2014 collections for the same months.

It's a curious inconsistency that carrying more people - at least for Metro - isn't translating to more revenue from the farebox.

"The board made a conscious decision when we adopted the three-hour unlimited transfer," board member Jim Robinson said, referring to a change that allows people to transfer in any direction with a single $1.25 payment. "I still think it was the right decision."

Riders still divided

With some exceptions, riders have embraced the bus changes and the greater transfer flexibility.

"It's gotten 1,000 percent better," said Sue Austin, 70, who rides from her home near MacGregor Park.

Austin said the new system is easier to understand. She said her neighbors, especially those who work at Hobby Airport, have told her their work trips are shorter.

Others were less impressed, saying the buses remain uncomfortable and inconvenient.

"How do you have a system where I have to take three buses to get to work?" Ray McClendon asked as he waited for a bus on Antoine.

McClendon, 33, who is transit-dependent as he saves money for a car, blamed his transfers on the lack of a route on T.C. Jester outside Loop 610.

While the numbers show that ridership has increased, it is unclear whether more people are riding or the same number of people are taking more trips. Critics said overcrowding on some routes has driven some to stop taking the bus.

The route changes - especially those that increase frequency on major routes - are intended to spread riders across more routes while improving service. In addition to the changes along Westheimer, peak frequency is increasing from 20 minutes to 15 minutes on the Route 40 Telephone/Heights bus and from 12 minutes to 10 minutes on the Route 65 Bissonnet bus.

A change of a few minutes might not seem important, but it can make transfers easier or lead to shorter waits at bus stops.

Lambert said the challenge, given Houston's growing traffic congestion, is to keep the buses spaced properly so problems of bunching - when two buses operating the same route come at virtually the same time - are avoided.

The decline in fare revenue isn't expected to complicate the changes in Metro service. While current collections put the agency $700,000 under budget for the first three months, sales tax revenue is $3.5 million above budget estimates. Metro's budget is based on collecting $75.1 million in fare revenue, compared to $695.4 million in sales tax proceeds.

Lower park-and-ride demand

Ridership, meanwhile, is settling after the bus system changes, and will likely shift when the alterations are made Sunday. Gas prices and the general Houston economy are also affecting how likely riders are to hop aboard.

Park and ride service has already been affected, something Metro officials cited in the fare revenue decline. Average daily ridership on commuter buses was 3 percent above 2014 for November, but 1.7 percent below what was predicted, said Jim Archer, director of service planning at Metro.

Robinson suggested layoffs in the oil and gas industry had affected park-and-ride demand.

Contrary to what many assume, Archer said, gas prices have little effect on demand for transit. In fact, Metro officials said, lower gas prices are leading more people to make optional trips, which are likely leading to congestion on area roads. So Metro buses, just like other vehicles, are sitting in more traffic.

Lambert said that congestion, and frustration with it, could lure riders more than cheap gas will drive them away.

"We want to help manage overall congestion in the area," Lambert said. "This is about mobility and giving people a choice."

More Information Significant changes to Metro bus routes. 40 Telephone / Heights – Weekdays – Change peak direction frequency from 20 to 15 minutes to match service with customer demand. 47 Hillcroft – 7 days/week – Adjust running times for more reliable service. Weekdays – Add a 6:40 a.m. northbound and a 3:45 p.m. southbound trip to reduce passenger overloads. 49 Chimney Rock / S. Post Oak – Weekdays – Added a 6:20 a.m. southbound trip from Northwest Transit Center to West Loop Park & Ride, and a 3:12 p.m. northbound trip from West Loop Park & Ride to Northwest Transit Center, to alleviate passenger overloads (effective September 2015). 52 Hardy–Ley – Weekdays – Add 6:40, 7:10, and 7:40 a.m. southbound trips, and a 4:15 p.m. northbound trip, all to alleviate passenger overloads. 60 Cambridge – Weekdays – Add 8:43 and 9:07 a.m. northbound trips, and 6:35 and 7:05 p.m. southbound trips between TMC Transit Center and Holly Hall, all to alleviate passenger overloads. 7 days/week – Adjust running times for more reliable service. 63 Fondren – Weekdays – Add 6:35, 6:50, and 7:05 a.m. northbound trips starting at Fondren/ West Bellfort; add 4:00 and 4:15 p.m. southbound trips starting at Fondren/Bellaire, all to alleviate passenger overloads. 7 days/week – Adjust running times for more reliable service. 65 Bissonnet – Weekdays – Change eastbound peak frequency from 12 to 10 minutes between 6:00 and 7:30 a.m. to match service with ridership demand. 76 Evergreen – Weekdays – Change frequency to 30 minutes all day to match service with customer demand. 7 days/week – adjust running times for more reliable service. 82 Westheimer – Weekdays – Change AM eastbound and PM westbound peak frequency from 8 to 6 minutes to reduce passenger overloads. Saturday/Sunday – Add a 4:10 a.m. eastbound trip to match service with customer demand. 7 days/week – Adjust running times for more reliable service. 89 Dacoma - 7 days/week – Change frequency from 20 to 30 minutes, to match service with ridership demand; adjust running times for more reliable service. 137 Northshore Express – Weekdays – Extend the 5:47 a.m. westbound trip to start from Maxey Road Park & Ride Lot; extend the 5:11 a.m., 2:37, 3:05 and 3:35 p.m. eastbound trips to end at Maxey Road PandR Lot, all to alleviate passenger overloads. Source: Metropolitan Transit Authority