Bangor will raise Community Connector bus fares from $1.50 to $2 after the City Council unanimously approved the increase Monday night. The cost of a half fare, available to senior citizens and people with disabilities, will increase from 75 cents to $1.
The fare increase will likely take about a year to implement, the project manager who led a study examining the bus system’s fare structure previously said. It will also be accompanied by new mobile payment and smart card options as the city phases out paper tickets and transfer slips.
The fare increase will follow a series of significant cuts to bus service, including the suspension of Saturday service, as the city has struggled to retain bus drivers and get ridership back to pre-pandemic levels.
The fare study projected that while some people might stop riding the bus due to a price hike, ridership and revenue will eventually grow as a result of the new technology being added to the transit system.
“The Community Connector has not increased fare in over a decade despite increasing costs and value added via new vehicles, brand new Transit Center and technology improvements,” City Councilor Michael Beck said Monday, reading from the council’s meeting agenda.
After the new payment methods are phased in, riders will still be able to pay in cash, although they’ll need to get the app or smart card to get free transfers.
The new fare structure approved Monday will also eliminate the five-ride pass and replace monthly passes with fare capping, which will make rides free after someone hits a certain number of rides in a month.
This system will have similar benefits to monthly passes but will not require riders to pay for the whole month up front, project manager Reinaldo Germano previously told councilors.
Germano is a consultant with Foursquare Integrated Transportation Planning, the firm that conducted the fare study. The study was funded by the Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System, a nonprofit and federally designated transportation planning organization.