SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)- Centro buses have announced that it will be lowering its fare rates across all of its properties. These changes, which go into effect on Mar. 7, will lower the rate to just one dollar per ride.
Vice President of Communications and Business Planning at Centro, Steven Koegel, said that the plan was put in place in order to create consistency amongst its fares, something that Centro does not have now. Fares can vary from two dollars and up based on where you are.
“So, what we’ve done is we’ve created one fare structure for all the services we provide, the city services, so there’s uniformity,” said Koegel.
Another major change as part of Centro’s plan is eliminating free transfers, which were used by 20.4 percent of riders last year. This will have a minimal impact on customers who use Centro everyday, as the cost of unlimited ride passes will be lowered.
“But if they do buy an unlimited ride pass, and they ride everyday, that pass had been 20 dollars, it’s now 12,” Koegel said. “So, those really consistent users, even if they’re transferring, they’re going to save money in the long run by using our pass system.”
Centro is also developing mobile ticketing, which it hopes will be installed on all buses by Spring. This new feature will be an addition to the GoCentro app, which currently allows users to view next bus arrival times.
In a press release, Centro Chief Executive Brian Schultz said that all of these changes are geared toward increasing ridership on all buses.
“We believe by reducing and simplifying our fares and making it more convenient to purchase our bus passes, we can make Centro more attractive to current and prospective customers,” said Schultz.
Centro is prepared for any initial revenue loss that could come from reducing its fares. If that does happen, it will not impact that number of bus drivers and routes Centro will have.
The fare reduction, along with phasing out free transfers and introducing mobile ticketing, will help to streamline Centro’s process and help buses stay on time and on schedule.