GoCary, GoDurham, GoRaleigh and GoTriangle have announced that they will continue to suspend bus fares through June 30, 2022. | GoRaleigh.org
GoCary, GoDurham, GoRaleigh and GoTriangle have announced that they will continue to suspend bus fares through June 30, 2022. | GoRaleigh.org
GoRaleigh, the capital city’s bus system, wanted to give people a break during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the city council voted to waive fares.
With gas prices rising over the past 15 months, some people are wondering how much longer the free rides will last.
“I think that’s going to be one of the things that council will be deliberating and talking about as they move through the budget process this fiscal year, making decisions about the next fiscal year,” David Eatman, assistant transportation director for GoRaleigh, told CBS 17 News.
The average gas price in North Carolina is $4.12 per gallon, and that has made some people look to public transportation as an option, especially when fares are free. The fare waiver is due to expire at the end of June, with the cost of rides after that yet to be determined.
Eatman said he can’t predict what the city council will decide with respect to next fiscal year, but he did say that between smart budgeting, the fact that many of the fleet’s vehicles use diesel -- which gets more miles per gallon -- and the move toward alternate-energy buses, the transit system is still within budget expectations.
Already, he said, about 50% of the fleet runs on electrical power or natural gas. That percentage is expected to rise over the next 12 to 18 months as new vehicles added will also be lower-emission ones.
Meanwhile, Raleigh drivers like N.J. Johnson may adjust his schedule to catch the rides while they’re free, giving him more choice on how to spend the money he isn't using on gasoline.
“I don’t really want to have to waste money on gas because I have other things that are kind of more important than that,” Johnson told CBS 17 News.
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