Something unique and awesome happened in the world of North Bay transit on July 1: Petaluma decided to make its buses absolutely free for everyone. “Zero, zilch, nada: no matter how you say it, everyone rides free on Petaluma transit” reads the Petaluma Transit announcement.
The free rides apply to all Petaluma Transit fixed-route bus service and paratransit services as part of a one-year pilot program. After the year is over, Petaluma plans to continue providing free rides as long as it’s safe and beneficial to the community. The goals are to increase ridership, promote the services available to riders, relieve the financial burden of low-income riders, improve disability access and meet the city’s climate goals. Petaluma is trying to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
You don’t need a ticket of any kind now—you can just show up and ride.
Paratransit services are intended for people whose disabilities prevent them from using a fixed transit route. Historically, they have not benefited from free fare programs, Petaluma Transit says. Yet this initiative allows paratransit riders to use fixed bus routes and paratransit services for free. They will still need to schedule paratransit trips as they have done in the past, but a fare will no longer be charged.
Part of what makes this new program so extraordinary is that there are no conditions placed on the free fare category. Anyone can ride, no matter their age, income level or other demographic criteria. There will be increased access to jobs for those who had trouble arranging transit to get to work, and the traffic and parking congestion downtown should be reduced, as well. And here’s a big benefit: Everyone will be able to board quickly without waiting to get tickets checked or searching pockets for that one last coin.
So how can Petaluma afford this? Turns out, the fare box only covers about 10 percent of the bus system’s operating costs. When you add up the costs of printing and processing tickets, processing the cash in the fare boxes and more, it turns out it’s actually probably a wash—plus there are benefits beyond just monetary ones.
You’re probably wondering, will this work? There have been some previous programs that demonstrate that yes, it probably will! For instance, in June 2023, a youth-ride-free program in Petaluma increased ridership by 35 percent. And during holiday shopping time (Nov 24–Dec 31), a free fare period led to a 60 percent rise in ridership. During Butter and Egg Days, Petaluma’s agricultural parade and festival in April, the fare-free service led to a—wait for it—381 percent increase in ridership. It turns out people want to ride buses, and they want to ride for free!
The only concerns may be overcrowded buses, but Petaluma doesn’t anticipate that kind of surge, or disruptive passengers. Petaluma PD and SAFE are working together to train drivers to manage passengers effectively.