I guess time will tell, but the first numbers seem promising, considering there has been pretty much zero promotion by the city except for a few news stories, an online flyer and a press conference;

“It’s really been going pretty well,” Sam Trebilcock with the city planning office said. “We have about 433 tags that have been provided this year. Where as in comparison to other years we’ve had more like 200-225. People certainly are taking advantage of it.”

Trebilcock says bus drivers haven’t had any issues so far. Kids ages 11-18 can get on a bus without a parent while those between 6-10 need an adult with them.

“We know where some of the routes, where they are being used the most. East side we see quite a few people using that on Route 7. And then they’re using several of the other routes too,” Trebilcock said.

On June 30, Sioux Area Metro had 114 dog tag riders for the day. Last Wednesday, that number was up to 143. The top route on both days was Route 7 in the northeast area around Washington High School and Dawley Farm Village.

When the program ends, it will be interesting to see the ridership numbers. If the current numbers continue, SAM could see over 8,000 rides for the summer!

2 Thoughts on “Is the FREE Youth Bus Passes a Success?

  1. I wish the routes came closer to the southwest corner of the city, because I have a 13 year old who would have been all over that free pass thing.

  2. The Daily Spin on July 29, 2015 at 12:38 pm said:

    It’s a great idea getting youth used to riding the bus. It’s an adventure at their age that they’ll prefer and pay for later. I’d suggest the city view this as a free sample that will increase ridership and expansion.

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