Columbia City Council suspends GoCOMO bus fares for sixth year
Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
GoCOMO bus riders will be token-free for another year after the Columbia City Council approved another year of suspended bus fares at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
Transportation operation costs that were adopted for fiscal year 2025 were over $7.8 million in the City of Columbia’s budget. Both the council memo and the city’s Public Works Public Information Specialist, John Ogan, report that the city is able to manage expenses through federal and state grants, sales tax funds, and other sources like the University of Missouri.
“There’s a variety of reasons to keep transit fare free, but it’s our recommendation that we stay that way simply because, through federal funding, we have the ability to stay fare free,” Ogan said.
Ogan adds that keeping buses free makes transportation more accessible and keeps them running smoothly.
“It keeps buses on schedule because people who board the bus don’t have to stop and fumble with change or find their pass in order to make payment,” Ogan said.
All of the city’s buses are also not equipped to accept payments. Ogan estimates it would take several months to get buses operational for accepting fares.
Meeting documents report that the GoCOMO Public Transport System last charged fares during fiscal year 2019, from October 1, 2018, to September 30, 2019. Fares ranged from $1.50 to free for buses and were $3 per ride for Paratransit. Total transportation revenue for that fiscal year was around $404,000. This covered around 9% of transportation’s operating costs.
Several passengers of GoCOMO transit told ABC 17 News that they were in support of keeping buses free.
“I think it’s really great. You know, it’s an enrichment to the community,” GoCOMO passenger Joseph Schlater said.