Four hundred more riders opted to avoid the highway and ride the rails down to Cape Cod this season aboard the CapeFlyer.

This is the fourth year the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority partnered to run the round trip passenger train from Boston to Hyannis. Every weekend, from Memorial Day until Labor Day, the train provided weekend service, stopping in Wareham on Merchants Way.

The service has seen a steady increase since it first opened in 2013, and though it ran one less weekend this year than the previous year, ridership numbers were higher. When adjusted to account for the number of weekends the service ran, the CapeFlyer ridership increased by 8.3 percent this year. This year, 13,678 people boarded the train.

Aggressive social media and marketing were driving factors for the numbers, said CapeFlyer Administrator Tom Cahir.

"We have to hustle to make it successful," he said.

This year, the train service put in more efforts to advertise local events such as those hosted by the Onset Bay Association.

With a bicycle car and a concession car that serves beer and wine, Cahir said the train is very different from any that he's ever seen, and he's seen many. Formerly a Deputy Secretary of Transportation for the state's Department of Transportation, Cahir oversaw all of the rail activity in the state before becoming an administrator for the CapeFlyer.

"I've never seen a train that people react to like this one," he said.

Cahir, who talks to riders every Friday night, said they "genuinely appreciate the way they were treated."

The CapeFlyer team put many ideas into effect to see that happen, including amenities such as free Wi-Fi and deals on Uber rides to occasional games and giveaways on the ride.

In August, the CapeFlyer had a $15 roundtrip Sunday special. This season, the CapeFlyer offered free rides to veterans to Troops in the Spotlight in Hyannis during a veterans-themed weekend.

On hiatus till next season, the CapeFlyer is already preparing for next year. On their Facebook page, the CapeFlyer promised that the 2017 season "is going to be bigger and better."