SunTran is the public transportation system serving the St. George, Utah area. It was formerly known as Dixie Area Rapid Transit or DART, which was launched and funded by Five County Association of Governments in 2003. The City of St. George in conjunction with federal transportation funding bought the bus system, today known as SunTran. When the bus system was founded in 2003, there were 60,000 riders that first year of service. In 2012, the ridership numbers increased to over 500,000. In January 2015, SunTran service expanded operation outside the St. George city limits.SunTran continues to expand into a metro/county-wide mass transit system as local municipalities secure efficient funding.