DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Attendance at the Iowa State Fair was down but more people rode buses to reach the fairgrounds. The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority says ridership between park-and-rides and the fairground was 221,188 during the 11-day fair. That an 8 percent increase over last year. The increased ridership came even as overall fair attendance dipped a bit to nearly 1,016,000 people. That is the smallest attendance since 2010.

Transit authority General Manager Elizabeth Presutti says the ridership figures show more people want to avoid the cost and hassle of parking near the fairgrounds. Fairgoers with prepaid fair tickets also were offered bus discounts.

The increase also may reflect a more accurate ticketing system used at some park and ride locations.