Madison Metro Transit announced Friday they reached a 25-year high in bus ridership, the second highest in the public transportation company’s more than 35-year history.

According to a statement from Metro Transit, the company’s 2007 annual ridership was 12,672,265, a 5.3 percent increase over its 2006 ridership. The company’s all time high was 13,388,926 in 1982.

Madison students said Metro’s free ride agreement with the university plays an important role in their lives. ASM student bus passes are available at no cost to all UW-Madison students and provide unlimited travel on all Metro routes.

Matthew Anderson, a UW-Madison freshman, said he was enthusiastic about the on-campus bus availability. “[The buses] rock. Usually they’re pretty packed in the winter.” He said he takes the bus for most of his transportation needs.

Anderson said the free rider program for students was the crucial benefit that converted him to bus ridership. “If I had to pay I’d probably do something else,” he said.

Metro provides unlimited passes for city of Madison employees, students of Edgewood College, Madison Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and St. Mary’s Hospital. The bus service collects 95.2 cents per ride for cardholders. Roy Meyer, a UW-Madison freshman, said he rides the bus “at least once a day,” adding the bus was critical to students like himself who live in Lakeshore dorms.

Nationally, bus ridership is up 30 percent in the past 11 years, with 2006 marking a 49-year high in bus rides. Metro’s numbers in the last seven years are similar, with ridership up 25.9 percent since 2000 and paratransit ridership up 12.1 percent in the same period.

Metro officials said in a statement long-term trend toward higher gasoline costs, ride pass agreements with educational and employer organizations and their employees’ commitment to professional, friendly service as key factors in metro’s growth.