TUCSON, Ariz. — Public transportation has been free in Tucson since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. In that time, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero says ridership hit an all time high.
With funding for fare-free transit is set to expire at the end of June, Tucson's Mayor and Council are looking at different ways to keep the wheels of public transportation turning.
At a Tuesday night meeting, the council chambers were packed with transit riders, drivers and advocates.
Mayor and Council weren't planning to vote on transit's future in that meeting, but they had discussed funding options earlier in the day.
While one option raised was to reinstate fares— with five different options on how to do so— city staff also looked at alternative funding sources that would keep transit free for all.
Free transit is important to people like Riley Orosz. She says she's used the bus her entire life, and, now, as a new adult, it's her primary mode of transportation. Orosz says she uses the bus at least twice a day getting to and from work.
While she acknowledges there are issues with safety and cleanliness on city buses— something many transit drivers brought up in the meeting— she says, especially at night, she feels safer on the bus than on the sidewalk. That's where she says she'll be if fares are reinstated.
“I don’t have Elon Musk’s bank account," Oroszs said. "So its like, three dollars is something to me. Now, I have to like cut back on food or cut back on things because I have to afford public transportation.”
Some council members are pushing for new ways to keep transit fares free, floating ideas like raising the rates on parking meters or upping the cost of a liquor license.
Overall, Council directed city staff to look into the money that would be made from multiple funding proposals.
They're looking into raising prices on parking meters or creating partnerships with large employers in Tucson like Tucson Medical Center or Pima Community College to subsidize the cost of transit. Other options are raising the public utility tax from 4.5% to 5% or upping the hotel and motel bed tax either by $1 per night or changing the rate to be proportional to the overall cost.
The results of that research will be back in front of these council members down the road.
