TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson City Councilmembers are looking for help keeping transit fares free.
They stopped charging in the early days of the pandemic, now they’re looking for community partners to help people continue to ride for free.
It costs roughly a hundred million dollars a year to keep the buses and streetcars running. Federal grants cover about half of that, the city budget covers about 45 million but the city did have pandemic relief funds covering about nine million dollars in fares. Now they’re looking to community partners to help cover that nine million.
Early in the pandemic, Tucson decided to let people ride SunTran buses, and the street car for free. It was seen as a COVID relief measure. Federal Funds helped cover the cost.
Tucson’s not alone in the move. Even before COVID some cities concluded that free fares make sense, to help low income people and to help the economy by making it easier for people to get to businesses, to work, and to buy things.
Judy Kamin says she’s appreciated a free ride to where she needs to go.
“Because most of the people that take the bus are not even middle class and they don’t have as much money. So I think they should tax the rich.”
University of Arizona students have also been lobbying to keep the fares free. They say free fares reduce the strain on tight student budgets—including the two dollars an hour they’d have to pay to park on campus.
UA Senior Aniah Bell says, “I actually get to save my money and spend it on other things like groceries or books. I know two dollars an hour might not be like a big deal but once you do that every day it does add up. So that’s an expense I’m able to cut down on and use it for other things I need at school.”
The city says more than 80 percent of the people who answered a poll on free fares said they’d like them to continue. But only 17 percent of bus drivers wanted free fares to continue. Drivers have complained about security issues, saying since fares became free more people just stay on the bus and cause problems for drivers and passengers.
Council Members were told some other cities that went fare free got financial help from local universities. So Tucson may ask UA to kick in to help cover the fares. City staff says 60 percent of street car riders are UA students, and 20 percent of bus riders go to University of Arizona.
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