In a Tough Budget Year, Why Fare-Free Transit Matters Even More
Co-Authored by Suzanne Schafer & Vanessa Cascio
As Tucson faces a difficult budget year, city leaders are weighing every option to close the gap. One idea likely to resurface is restoring fares on public transit.
Tucson has a strong, reliable system, including buses and the Sun Link streetcar, serving tens of thousands of residents every day. Fare-free transit has made it easier than ever for people to get to work, school, and essential services.
Tightening the proverbial belt doesn’t have to mean reinstating fares. Doing so without careful analysis could actually cost more than it brings in, reduce ridership, limit mobility for thousands of residents, and evenundermine the transit system itself.
To understand the stakes, let’s look at the key areas where bringing fares back could have major consequences.
Restoring Fares Could Hurt Tucson’s Economy
Transit doesn’t just move people. It supports economic activity.
Research by Professor Chris Nelson, conducted with the City of Tucson, measured the economic impact of suspending fares on the Sun Link streetcar. That work provides a model for analyzing how fare-free policies affect the broader transit system.
Reinstating fares without examining these economic effects would ignore a major piece of the puzzle. Reduced ridership could mean:
Fewer customers reaching businesses
Less economic activity in transit corridors
Lower sales tax revenue for the city
Other cities with fare-free transit have documented economic benefits tied to increased mobility and accessibility. More transit use can also support greater density and economic growth without adding traffic congestion.
Bringing Back Fares Would Likely Reduce Ridership
Recent research shows that fare-free transit can significantly increase ridership. Studies published in 2025 found that transit systems eliminating fares often see ridership increases of 45 to 55 percent.
Importantly, riders tend to experience fare-free transit not just as cheaper service but as better service overall. When fares are removed, transit becomes simpler, faster, and easier to use.
Emerging research also suggests something surprising. Reinstating fares on a system that has been fare-free can reduce ridership even more than cutting service levels. In other words, bringing back fares could drive away more riders than running fewer buses or reducing frequency. Maintaining current ridership levels would likely require significant service improvements to offset the impact of fares.
Looking at national trends helps illustrate the potential impact. Across 22 transit systems tracked nationwide, ridership in 2024 remained 22 percent below 2019 levels on average, with some systems seeing declines of more than 50 percent.
If Tucson had experienced the same average decline instead of seeing ridership grow during the fare-free period, the system would have had roughly one-third fewer riders in 2024.
A substantial drop in ridership does not just affect transit agencies. It also affects public health, safety, economic opportunity, and access to essential services for thousands of residents.
Fare Revenue May Be Lower Than Expected
At first glance, fares appear to offer a straightforward revenue stream. But recent data from transit systems around the country suggests otherwise.
Among the 22 systems studied, ridership was down 22 percent compared to 2019 but fare revenue had fallen 48 percent on average.
In other words, fare revenue is recovering far more slowly than ridership, and several cities have seen fares continue to decline even as ridership grows.
Another key metric—farebox recovery ratio, or the share of operating costs paid by fares—has fallen dramatically as well. On average, that figure dropped 53% across the systems studied.
Based on these trends, Tucson might collect roughly $6.2 million annually in fares, and that’s before accounting for the costs of collecting them.
And even that estimate may be optimistic. Factors like fare capping, free rides for certain groups, and nonpayment would likely reduce actual revenue.
Across the country, transit agencies are grappling with these realities. Some are doubling down on fare enforcement and technology, while others are moving toward lower fares or eliminating them entirely.
What’s becoming clear is that fares are not a particularly stable or resilient funding source for transit.
Collecting Fares Comes With Significant Costs
Charging fares requires infrastructure, staffing, technology, and enforcement.
The most recent estimate presented to Tucson’s Mayor and Council suggested annual operating costs of about $529,000, along with $1.06 million in startup costs. However, past experience suggests the true cost could be significantly higher.
For example:
Operating the Transit Services office alone cost more than $400,000 annually in 2014.
Tucson spent nearly $350,000 on a single type of fare media in 2017.
A much smaller transit system in Massachusetts requires three full-time staff members just to manage fare collection.
Elsewhere, transit agencies are seeing major costs associated with restarting fare systems. Kansas City’s transit agency is currently considering proposals of up to $6 million to reintroduce fare collection technology.
A full accounting would need to include equipment, staffing, maintenance, enforcement, communication, and system procurement. Without that level of detail, it’s difficult to know whether restoring fares would meaningfully improve the city’s budget.
Lower Ridership Could Lead to Service Cuts
Transit ridership and service levels are closely connected. When ridership falls, service cuts often follow.
If fares significantly reduce ridership, Tucson could face pressure to reduce routes or frequency beyond any cuts already being considered due to budget constraints.
That outcome would move the city away from many of its long-term goals: stronger economic growth, climate action, safer transportation, and more livable neighborhoods.
A transit system with fewer riders and less service ultimately makes it harder for Tucson to grow in the ways the community has said it wants.
Bottom Line
Tucson’s budget challenges are real, and every option deserves careful consideration.
But a return to fare collection is not a simple accounting decision. It affects mobility, economic activity, the safety of our streets, and the long-term strength of the city’s transportation network.
Before that decision is made, Tucson deserves a complete and transparent analysis of the true costs and benefits.
Without that full picture, reinstating fares could harm riders and fail to solve the very budget challenges it’s meant to address.
Take Action
The Transit for All Coalition is mobilizing in support of free fares. In the months leading up to the Mayor and Council’s budget decision, there are many opportunities for action.
Sign on to the letter campaign and add your own comments.
Contact your City of Tucson and Pima County elected officials directly and tell them why fare-free transit matters to you.
Email transitforalltucson@gmail.com to get involved with local organizing efforts
Attend meetings of the Tucson Transit Advisory Committee or apply to serve on the committee.
About our guest contributor:
Suzanne Schafer is a long-time transit advocate who has been riding Sun Tran since 1985. She currently serves as chair of the Tucson Transit Advisory Committee and leads Zero Fares Tucson.
