Transit fares to begin April 4

Transit fares to begin April 4

Tim Leeds

The director of the local transit system said a plan to implement fares has been approved, and people will have to start paying for rides Monday, April 4.

"In order to cover our costs, we have to implement fares, " said Jim Lyons, executive director of North Central Montana Transit.

The transit system staff started holding meetings with community groups in December to talk about how to offset rising fuel costs and concerns that funding for transit systems could be cut in the upcoming federal transportation funding reauthorization.

In January, the group agreed to proceed with setting a fare schedule.

Lyons said the fares will be $1 per ride on the routes from Fort Belknap, Harlem and Chinook to Havre and back, throughout Havre and the route from Havre to Box Elder and back.

The Tuesday and Thursday trips to Great Falls, starting from Fort Belknap and picking up passengers on the way, will be $10 each way, or $20 for a round trip.

Lyons said the fares will be cash and exact change only, or with a punch card.

He said agencies and organizations may provide funding for riding the system for their clients, and the transit system now is talking with Montana State University-Northern about its students riding free with a current student identification card.

One of the main reasons the system is implementing the fare — rising fuel costs — may be causing another factor at the system. The buses, originally predicted to haul about 200 people a month system-wide, now are transporting about 100 riders a day, Lyons said.

"We just continue to grow, " he added.

People with questions about the fares or the system itself can call its new offices, at the system's bus garage on the east end of town, at 265-4762.

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Online: North Central Montana Transit: http://www.ncmtransit.net

The director of the local transit system said a plan to implement fares has been approved, and people will have to start paying for rides Monday, April 4.

"In order to cover our costs, we have to implement fares, " said Jim Lyons, executive director of North Central Montana Transit.

The transit system staff started holding meetings with community groups in December to talk about how to offset rising fuel costs and concerns that funding for transit systems could be cut in the upcoming federal transportation funding reauthorization.

In January, the group agreed to proceed with setting a fare schedule.

Lyons said the fares will be $1 per ride on the routes from Fort Belknap, Harlem and Chinook to Havre and back, throughout Havre and the route from Havre to Box Elder and back.

The Tuesday and Thursday trips to Great Falls, starting from Fort Belknap and picking up passengers on the way, will be $10 each way, or $20 for a round trip.

Lyons said the fares will be cash and exact change only, or with a punch card.

He said agencies and organizations may provide funding for riding the system for their clients, and the transit system now is talking with Montana State University-Northern about its students riding free with a current student identification card.

One of the main reasons the system is implementing the fare — rising fuel costs — may be causing another factor at the system. The buses, originally predicted to haul about 200 people a month system-wide, now are transporting about 100 riders a day, Lyons said.

"We just continue to grow, " he added.

People with questions about the fares or the system itself can call its new offices, at the system's bus garage on the east end of town, at 265-4762.

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Online: North Central Montana Transit