Students at the University of Arizona have been able to ride the streetcar on campus and downtown free of charge since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
Two-and-a-half years later, many students would like to make those free rides a permanent benefit of attending the UA. Now they have the chance to tell the Tucson City Council, which is set to make that decision in December, why it matters to them.
“I’m an out-of-state student, and right now the gas prices and car prices are not something I can afford,” said Avery Berger, a UA student who joined about 30 others at a forum hosted by Sun Tran on Wednesday evening at the Student Union Memorial Center. “I’m here on scholarships. … I need it to get to school.”
Sun Tran is the company that owns Sun Link, the streetcar service, as well as most other public transportation services in Tucson, including the bus. Prior to the pause on charging for rides, UA students could buy a semester pass (which the university partly subsidized) for $98 a semester or $248 for a year. A single ride cost $4.50. It’s unclear if those prices would stay the same or increase with inflation if the council were to vote to reinstate ride fares.
The council, which funds the operation of the Sun Link streetcar near campus as well as Sun Tran’s citywide bus services, used federal pandemic relief money to make fares free on both the bus and streetcar services early on in the pandemic. Despite those federal dollars dwindling, the council voted to include free fares in the city’s general fund budget and will continue to offer free rides at least through the end of the year.
Keeping fares free for all public transit in Tucson, including the streetcar, would cost the city an estimated $800,000 to $1 million a month.
In the meantime, the council is working with Sun Tran to find out how important it is to Tucson residents, including the UA students who make up about 60% of streetcar riders, to have access to free public transportation.
At the forum Wednesday, representatives from Sun Tran and UA’s transportation division distributed surveys asking participants to give more details about themselves and the perceived pros and cons of keeping fares free.
Safety is a concern
Aside from the obvious cost savings, safety is also top of mind for some students.
“My friends and I love to explore downtown especially at night and we’re always dependent on Sun Link for safety,” said Ayla Ahmad, a senior at the UA who has enjoyed Sun Link’s late night services. “It would be a deterrent if you were charging students. If they’re going out at night, they may decide to just walk home and that can be dangerous.”
Cindy Glysson, director of marketing and communication for Sun Tran, said that while “we want to make sure everyone has a chance to weigh in on the fare survey,” she reminded students that she has no control over the council’s final decision.
“I know they’re reading everything that comes in,” Glysson said. But, she added, “there’s so much more that goes into it. … It’s definitely a part of the decision but it’s not all of the decision.”
Could UA fully subsidize fares?
Members of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona want to make sure every UA student who has an opinion about the streetcar fares has a chance to fill out a survey. At Wednesday’s meeting, some students implied Sun Tran had not done thorough enough outreach to ensure every student was aware of the opportunity.
“I want to make sure we have some substantial conversations that lead to free fares for students,” said Patrick Robles, ASUA student body president. “At the same time, I also want to make sure that there is genuine outreach from the city’s angle to make sure that all of our voices here count.”
Sun Tran officials, who have worked with UA’s transportation division representatives, said they would make an effort to extend the survey’s deadline (it was originally the end of this week) and work with the student organization to reach out to a broader swath of students.
But regardless of the city’s final decision on bus and streetcar fares, UA students may have other avenues for keeping streetcar fares free.
“We could still figure out a way to make it free for us — meaning free to the customer, but we’d have to find a way to fund that,” said Jim Sayre, executive director of parking and transportation services at the UA. “Thinking about how that could be funded would be a great way for students to get engaged right now.”
To fill out Sun Tran’s survey about free public transit, visit https://www.suntran.com/publicinput2022/ for more information.
