Free bus fare proposed for nearly nine weeks during Expo ‘74 anniversary celebrations

Spokane’s elected leadership wants it to be free to ride a bus in Spokane County for nearly nine weeks during the 50th anniversary celebration of Expo ’74. Some members of the Spokane Transit Authority board are skeptical.

On Thursday, the Spokane City Council voted 5-2 to support free fare from May 4 to July 4, indicating the city would be willing to funnel $100,000 in unspent COVID-19 relief funds to offset some of the costs, which have not been fully quantified.

Those funds need to either be spent or contracted by the end of the year or risk being clawed back by the federal government, and several council members argued this would be a valuable investment to benefit downtown Spokane and the regional transit system’s efforts to recover ridership after the pandemic.

“Just like Expo was a turning point in the history of Spokane (50 years ago), this would be another way to energize that,” Councilman Zack Zappone said.

Councilwoman Kitty Klitzke argued that free fare, more than a simple cost savings for commuters, could help reduce friction for people who have not used the bus system ever or in some time. Councilman Paul Dillon noted that environmentalism was a central theme of Expo ’74 and argued that encouraging people to take the bus instead of driving downtown during the 50th anniversary celebration would align with that value. Mayor Lisa Brown has also voiced support for the proposal.

The resolution approved Thursday was nonbinding; a follow-up vote will be needed to actually move the funds.

Council members Michael Cathcart and Jonathan Bingle, who voted against the resolution, raised a number of objections, including that the proposal came at the last minute and was not going through the normal process for resolutions.

“Part of my frustration does come from – we hear all the time about how much money STA has,” Bingle said. “Considering our people are taxed to pay for this service, I don’t think we need to give them any more money.”

Cathcart also noted that the city is undergoing an extensive analysis of its unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds and argued that it was improper to agree to spend $100,000 of it without going through that process.

A couple hours after the Spokane City Council passed its resolution, the Spokane Transit Authority Board met for its regularly scheduled meeting.

Transit officials had previously proposed a much more modest promotional fare during Expo ’74 celebrations, charging only 50 cents to ride Route 11 from the Spokane Arena to a block south of Riverfront Park. Route 11 is primarily used as a last-mile transportation service for commuters paying a $40 monthly fee to park near the arena and access downtown. That promotional fare would have been voted on Thursday; however, after the City Council’s proposal was presented, a decision on any promotional fare was punted to the next transit authority board meeting in April.

Some board members expressed concern with a free fare proposal, including due to the potential loss of revenue. Board chair and Spokane County Commissioner Al French said that proposals ranging from a limited 50-cent fare for Route 11 to free fare for the entire system should be submitted by Monday, giving staff time before the April meeting to do a cost analysis of the various proposals.

Employee representatives also raised safety concerns, arguing that free fare caused a spike in violence on the bus.

“I want to make sure that everyone is aware that we do have documented evidence that when we went free fare for COVID and free fare for our youth that we have had an increase in safety issues on the bus,” said Rhonda Bowers, a non-voting member of the board representing transit employees.

Tim Hattenburg, a board member and deputy mayor of Spokane Valley, concurred.

“I can maybe see where we can have a 50-cent fare systemwide, but there’s still some kind of buy-in and responsibility when they’re using that, and so I think it’s very important that we keep that in mind for the safety of the operators and the passengers,” Hattenburg said.