C-Tran appears poised to begin offering a new discounted day pass for seniors and disabled riders later this year, after the proposal received a mostly positive response during a public hearing Tuesday night.
Several people spoke in favor of offering an Honored Citizen and Youth Day Pass for $2.50. That included Felida resident Steve Schrag, who first floated the idea to the C-Tran Board of Directors last fall.
“It’s not a $50 million project or anything like that, but it shows some compassion for us elderly people, disabled people,” Schrag said.
The new pass would cover all non-express C-Tran routes, including those that travel to Portland. C-Tran already offers discounted single-ride fares and monthly passes for eligible riders, but not day passes. Currently, the transit agency only offers an adult All-Zone day pass for $5.
“Honored” citizens includes disabled riders or seniors 65 and older. Youth includes children ages 7 to 18. Children 6 and younger ride free with an adult.
The proposal will come back to the C-Tran board for final approval in April. But a few board members took the opportunity to express their support Tuesday.
“I think this is sensitive and smart of C-Tran to be looking at this,” said Clark County Councilor Jeanne Stewart.
Clark County Councilor David Madore called the new pass “a very good step in the right direction.” But he suggested reducing the price even more, and made a formal motion to consider a lower or “zero cost” pass for eligible riders. The motion died when no one offered a second.
If approved, C-Tran could begin offering the new discounted day pass once it completes the planned installation of new fare boxes across its bus fleet. That could happen in the first half of this year, according to C-Tran.
The discounted pass would have a “negligible” impact on C-Tran’s budget, and could result in a minor increase in ridership, according to the agency.
The new discounted day pass isn’t the only fare change C-Tran is considering. The agency has also proposed expanding its transfer window for single rides to 2.5 hours. C-Tran riders now must transfer to another route within an hour of stepping off the previous bus on weekdays, or two hours on weekdays.
The move to 2.5 from the start of a trip would mirror a change made by TriMet, the Portland area transit agency, that’s expected to take effect next month.
