Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) has been abuzz with activity lately -- briefing drivers, employees and outlets and putting up signs and posters -- all in preparation for a systemwide fare change that will go into effect Monday, June 7. Gone will be the three separate fare structures formerly used by Cornell, Ithaca Transit and TomTran. In their place will be a greatly simplified fare structure that applies to all TCAT routes and services.
These changes are part of the service and fare consolidation study that TCAT recently completed with the help of Weslin Consulting Services, a national public transportation consulting firm. Throughout the study, public input on how to improve the current transit system was gathered through over 50 meetings and a rider survey. This past winter, TCAT unveiled to the community the fare structure proposal that's now being put into effect. Riders can expect to see bus service improvements, such as more frequent times, and Sunday and evening service coming in August -- including Friday and Saturday night service between Cornell's North Campus, the mall and movie theaters.
TCAT General Manager Rod Ghearing explained the reasoning behind the fare change: "Since we consolidated over a year and a half ago, almost all of the buses have been painted to look the same, but depending upon which route you get on -- city, county or Cornell -- the fares are still very different. We needed to develop a uniform fare structure that would work for all routes. The main purpose of the consolidation was to provide more efficient and expanded service to area transit riders. Changes such as this uniform fare structure will make riding TCAT buses less confusing and, TCAT officials believe, less intimidating."
With the new fare structure, every bus route will charge the same fare based on TCAT's established zone structure.
The new fares will be determined by how many zones a rider travels through:
A new perk for Cornell employees, effective June 7, will be their ability to ride any TCAT route, anywhere in Zone 1, Monday through Friday, at no cost when they show their Cornell picture ID.
For Cornell employees who need to ride across multiple zones, or who take the bus on the weekend, there is Cornell's OmniRide program. An OmniRide pass allows travel on all buses in Tompkins County, any time the buses run, and gives employees access to support services such as Emergency Ride and books of one-day parking permits for days when riding the bus is not an option.
The new TCAT base fare is less than those being charged by over two-thirds of the transit systems in the United States and lower than the fares being charged by other transit companies in Central New York cities such as in Binghamton, Buffalo, Cortland, Elmira, Syracuse and Utica.
In addition to the fare change, new monthly and annual bus passes also will become available:
The monthly passes will be sold at TCAT ticket and schedule outlets, and the annual passes will be distributed through TCAT on a subscription basis. They will be valid on all TCAT routes.
"If somebody rides the bus twice a day, five days a week, they'll save $10 with a single zone monthly pass and $20 with a multi zone monthly pass," Ghearing said. "That's comes out to just 50 cents and $1 a ride -- which is less than most riders are paying now. For anyone that rides TCAT regularly, I would recommend getting one of the passes."
For more information on TCAT's new fares and bus passes, call 277-RIDE.
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