PROMOTIONAL FARE-FREE DAYS
ON TRANSIT
City Council Meeting
March 29, 2022
Yuri Koslen
Transit Planner
Transportation and Public Works – Transit
1 CURRENT
• COVID pandemic continues to impact
recovery of transit services and ridership
• 2019 Transit Integration and Efficiency
Study (TIES) recommends further county-
wide transit coordination, including on fare
policy and marketing
• Council approved fare-free service days on
Santa Rosa CityBus for special events in
2017 and 2018
2 CURRENT
• Fare-free days are widely used to raise the
profile of public transit and allow the general
public the opportunity to try using transit
• Fare-free days offer an opportunity to elevate
CityBus’ community profile post-pandemic and
support significant community events with
enhanced transit access
3 PROPOSED
• Council delegates authority to City Manager to
approve up to six fare-free service days/year to
be identified in coordination with transit
partners to promote transit use and support
significant community events
• First multi-operator fare-free day proposed for
Earth Day observation on April 23, 2022, in
coordination with Santa Rosa Annual Earth Day
Festival and Petaluma Butter and Egg Days
4 PROPOSED
• At current ridership levels and depending on
how many and which fare-free days are offered,
Transit Division expects to forgo $4,000-6,000 in
fare revenue annually
• With ridership increase to pre-pandemic levels,
lost fare revenue would increase to $7,000-
10,000
• Proposed revenue loss is acceptable to Transit
Division as marketing expense given
effectiveness of fare-free days in promoting
public transit
5 BENEFIT
• Elevates CityBus’ community profile
• Promotes transit ridership recovery from the
pandemic
• Supports community initiatives and events
• Implements an integrated countywide transit
initiative with partner transit operators
• Promotes mode-shifting and sustainability
• Improves access to affordable and sustainable
public service for both residents and visitors
6 RECOMMENDATION
• It is recommended by the Transportation and Public
Works Department that the Council, by resolution,
authorize the City Manager or designee to approve up
to six fare-free service days per year on Santa Rosa
CityBus to support community events and promote
transit ridership recovery in coordination with county- wide transit operators.
• Questions?
7