TOLEDO, Ohio — After over two years, free rides on Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) buses are coming to an end.
TARTA’s zero fare policy, which began in March 2020 as a coronavirus safety measure, will come to an end on Monday, August 1.
Still, TARTA’s Andy Cole says riders can expect to pay no more than they did before the zero-fare policy went into effect, and in many cases even less.
For instance, TARTA will no longer charge for transfers.
And they've expanded the number of people eligible for reduced fair passes to include veterans, active duty military, and kids.
And thanks to the first new fare technology in about 20 years, riders paying with cash will no longer need exact change.
"These particular machines that we've got now and the people will get to know, our customers will get to know on Monday, if you put in $2 and you don’t have exact change for a one-way pass, it'll give you a change card worth 50-cents towards your next ride,” said Cole.
RELATED: TARTA outlines new fare structure
TARTA’s new fare structure includes a day pass, which can now be purchased on board or at certain TARTA locations, in addition to the EZfare app.
The day pass will now cost just three dollars, down from $5 pre-pandemic.
Before the pandemic, day passes were only available on the EZfare app.
A single ride is $1.50 including free transfers for two hours.
Week-long passes remain at $15 and a 31-day pass drops from $60 to $45.
TARTA says they want to offer as many ways to pay as they can in order to make it convenient for riders – that includes cash, passes, EZfare app.
TARTA will no longer sell tokens however. Old tokens will be able to be exchanged for rides on TARTA however.
The TARPS 20-trip pass is also being eliminated.
Children under 5 can still ride for free.
In preparation to begin collecting fares, TARTA conducted a fare study that analyzed the authority’s pre-COVID fare structure; conducted a state and national peer and best practice review; and established fare goals of simplification, alignment, affordability and modernization. The results were presented to the TARTA Board of Trustees in May.
If you need more information, you can call the TARTA information line at 419-243-7433 (RIDE).
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