BOISE, Idaho — If you ride the bus, you could soon see your fare go up.
Valley Regional Transit, which runs the public bus system throughout the Treasure Valley, is considering its first fare increase in years.The proposal would increase single ride fares up to 50 percent.
“We're talking about the base ride for a single ride from a $1 to $1.50,” Stephen Hunt, Valley Regional Transit principal planner said.
Multi-use passes like day, monthly and annual passes would also go up between 10 and 25 percent depending on the pass.
“We are doing these fare increases because it's been 16 years since we had one and, in that time, we've added a bunch of things to help improve the service for riders,” Hunt said.
Services like fixed bus stops and real-time information about where buses are.
For mall worker Asia, the bus is her main source of transportation so, every cent makes a difference.
“I just don’t think that would be fair because the people who take the bus usually can’t afford rides and stuff so increasing it would be kind of silly,” Asia, frequent bus rider said.
For 72-year-old Heidi though, the fare hike is necessary.
“$1.50 is beautiful because it's better than gas and parking and accidents and insurance, I think that’s the best thing,” Heidi said.
Before Valley Regional Transit makes any changes, they want to hear from the community first.
“We're asking the public to let us know how that change might impact them and their commuting and their life,” Hunt said.
Once that happens, they'll then take the public input to the executive board in July, then the full board will make their decision in August.
If approved, the changes would go into effect October 1.