Cedar Rapids proposes no-fare Saturdays on city buses

Riders of city buses will travel  free on Saturdays under a new city proposal approved by a City Council committee and sent on to the full council for a November vote.

Council member Kris Gulick, chairman of the council's Finance and Administrative Services Committee, said Wednesday that the idea behind no-fare Saturdays for bus riders is to encourage new people to give city buses a try, in hopes that some might use city buses during the week.

The revenue now brought in by Saturday riders is limited, he said, and so the bus system won't lose much by offering no-fare Saturdays.

Other proposed changes in city bus fares will make up for revenue lost on Saturday, he said.

Those proposed changes, Gulick said, include an increase in the basic adult fare from $1.25 a ride to $1.50 a ride.

At the same time, monthly rates for seniors and the disabled will drop from $24 to $20 and for students from $30 to $20.

The city's flood-damaged bus depot, now being renovated, should be ready for use on Dec. 1, Gulick said.

A temporary depot has been operating out of modular homes in the city's parking lot along Second Street SE since the 2008 flood.