Tucson's fare-free public transit extended again
TUCSON − Two months before Tucson’s fare-free transit was set to expire, the city voted last week to make public transportation fare free through December, until the mayor and council can discuss with stakeholders and negotiate with regional partners on a permanent funding strategy.
Tucson residents including students, people with disabilities, and people with lower incomes spoke out in support of having free fare, noting how affordable access to public transportation allows them easier access to services, work and school.
“I’m a student at the University of Arizona and I believe that free transit is important to students as approximately 70-80% of Sun Link users are at the University of Arizona which is a statistic that states this is a basic need,” said Adriana Grijalva at a meeting on May 9.
As part of the decision to extend the moratorium on collecting fares, a stakeholder group made up of riders, bus drivers, community members, and others will be created to find long-term solutions.
The city first made public transportation free in March 2020 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and lessen the financial burden of the pandemic on residents. Since then, the moratorium on collecting fares has been extended four times. Before last week’s decision, fare-free transit was set to expire on June 30.
These fare-free efforts were financed with funding from the federal government for the first two years, and from one-time-use General Fund funding for 2022 and 2023.
Although the city wants to make fares free permanently, it must consider where the funds will come from.
The city hopes that regional partners whose stakeholders also depend on public transportation like University of Arizona, Tucson Unified School District and Pima Community College will also come to the table to discuss investing in fare-free transit for the long term.
“If we don't have long term funding options then we need to start talking about what’s a fair fare,” said Mayor Regina Romero.
The city manager recommended funding the next six months of free fare for $4.6 million through local funding sources including $2 million coming from the Hotel and Motel Surcharge in the General Fund, almost half a million from the Transit Investment Plan, as well as several other local sources.
Romero and council members reiterated how important negotiations with regional partners will be. These include the Tucson Unified School District, the University of Arizona and Pima Community College.
City councilmember Paul Cunningham said he rode the bus at different times and on various lines and found the majority of bus users were people going to and from work.
“They had their Circle K smock, they had their Jack in the Box shirt on, they are going to work,” he said, noting he heard about “bad actors” on the bus but just saw people going to work.
Other councilmembers said improving bus service must also be a part of the discussions around fare-free transit.
The city said it recognizes that public transit “connects the city’s most vulnerable people to jobs, resources, and services,” and council members voiced their desire to find a long-term solution.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tucson's fare-free public transit extended again
