MARTIN COUNTY — Residents in Martin County now have a free and more accessible option for public transportation after county commissioners voted Nov. 4 to eliminate fares on the MARTY bus line.
“MARTY is the mass transit system in Martin County. It is available to everyone in the community. It's mass transit meaning that the bus stops certain routes and follows those routes and will only stop at the bus stops that are designated for the transit system,” said Karen Deigl, president and CEO of the Senior Resource Association, which facilitates the MARTY line.
Previously, fares ranged from $1.50 to $2 for non-senior riders. The system includes five fixed routes across the county and 14 buses operating Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“There are 67 bus stops in Martin County and there is regional service. So we do with Route 1, we touch into St. Lucie County and with what's called Route 20X, but it's a commuter route which goes down to West Palm to the Veterans Clinic,” Deigl said.
Deigl said county commissioners’ decision to make the service free followed examples from other areas that saw success with fare-free transit.
“Indian River County, it has been free since its inception. Three or four years ago, St. Lucie County did a pilot program and went fare free. And what happened is that they experienced a 60% ridership increase,” she said.
The goal, Deigl said, is to make transportation more accessible for residents who rely on the bus system for daily needs.
“I hope more people ride it and I hope people ride it more often. I always say that I do not want transportation to be a barrier to better quality of life. There's many individuals who cannot afford a car, cannot drive. So for them to be able to get to work, to doctor's appointments, to go grocery shopping, just to live, they need transportation,” she said.
In addition to improving access, Deigl said eliminating fares also makes operations smoother and more efficient.
“By eliminating the fare, you actually gain time. A person gets on the bus, whether it's the money or a token or whatever it is, takes them time to get that taken care of. And then they go and sit down and the bus cannot leave until they sit down. So it could be five seconds, it could be 10 seconds, but every time a rider gets on the bus, that's time. And if you eliminate the fare, it gives you more time so that you can extend your route,” she said.
Removing the fare also reduces operating costs by cutting out the need for fare collection and handling, she said.
“And what we discussed with them is that it does help lower the operating costs because of the oversight of what you have to do when you collect a fare. The time it takes and the number of people it takes to count the money. And then after it's counted, we would have the law enforcement come and pick up the money bag. They would take it to the bank. So there's a number of steps and also the oversight costs,” she said.
The change could also help the county qualify for more federal transit funding, Deigl said.
“They'll give you, let's say it's $2 million. Well, they'll give you the $2 million, but whatever your fare is, they take that off. So your budget for the year for the fed dollars, they say, is $2 million. So the higher ridership, the more opportunity to bring dollars down,” she said.
The fare-free rides went into effect immediately after the commission’s vote. Deigl said MARTY staff are already looking ahead to improvements in service and coverage.
“There's a lot of things that we're planning on doing for route optimization. One is adding new stops. In fact, this week I'm going to be going out and we're going to be looking at all the routes and driving them and seeing where we could put additional bus stops,” she said.
Information about MARTY routes and schedules is available on the Martin County website.