Racine's Reduced Rate Student Bus Fares and BUS Tokens Going Away January First

Children and students ages 6 and above paying cash for their bus fare will no longer be offered a reduced rate effective in January. Using a pre-paid 10-ride pass which sells for $15 will still provide a $1.50 per ride identical to the existing “student fare” but kids age 6 and above paying cash will be required to pay the standard bus fare of $2. Children ages 5 and under ride free with an adult.

The change comes in reaction to cuts in state transportation aid from the State of Wisconsin according to City of Racine Transit Systems Manager Al Stanek. “The Belle Urban System (BUS) has been forced to find new sources of revenue since a better than 10% reduction in state transit funding went into effect in 2012,” said Stanek. ”In 2012 the BUS had to raise the adult fare from $1.50 to $2 and earlier this year the cost of a ride on the demand-response DART (Dial-A-Ride-Transit) system went from $3 to $4.

Also effective in 2015 bus tokens will no longer be honored. Belle Urban suspended bus token sales 20 months ago and advertised and implemented a token buy-back policy. Individuals or organizations wishing to exchange tokens for cash or toward the purchase of a 10 ride pass, new daily pass or 30-day unlimited ride pass can do so at the Belle Urban System (BUS) offices.

“The city of Racine and its partnering communities of the Villages of Mount Pleasant, Caledonia, and Sturtevant and the town of York were left with few options to replace state funding when restrictions on municipal spending were also imposed by the state,” according to Stanek. “The BUS will also be relying on additional revenue from advertising on the outside of buses and other attempts to replace the estimated $300,000 reduction in state aid.”