Tucson City Council discussion Tuesday of fare-free transit grew tense, with Mayor Regina Romero saying the former head of the Regional Transportation Authority milked Tucson taxpayers and one council member accusing another of being “disingenuous.”
The varying views on transit fees ensued after Tucson City Manager Tim Thomure recommended that the city maintain fare-free transit, saying it’s the most feasible option until at least 2028.
In a memo discussed at the study session, Thomure provided a list of cost-saving measures and new revenue totaling about $10.1 million annually that would help the city keep fare-free transit.
The mayor and council voted to direct the city manager and officials to renegotiate the funding agreements with the RTA, seeking a more fair system for how county cities contribute, which would help maintain fare-free transit for Tucsonans.
Transit in Tucson has been fare-free since March 2020. Initially a temporary COVID-19 response, city leaders have since pushed to maintain fare-free transit for six years as they continue to find ways to fund the system.
Tucson is among a small and growing number of cities nationwide offering free public transit. In Arizona, Sierra Vista is offering a fare-free program. U.S. cities experimenting with zero fares include Richmond, Virginia, Corvallis, Oregon and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Tucson transit officials reviewed an analysis of reinstating fares.
The system would cost an estimated $1.1 million in the first year of returning to fares, with a continued estimated cost of $818,000 annually. In 2028, the aging fareboxes also would have to be replaced — a one-time cost of about $6 million, according to the memo. The city could seek federal and grant funds to aid in the expense.
If fares were reinstated at 2018 levels, this option would bring in the most money, producing an estimated $9.4 million in revenue in one year, projections in the memo stated. Sun Tran and Sun Link rides in 2018 were $1.75 at the cash rate for non-express services.
The mayor balked, saying neither she nor any of the council members are advocating for the return of 2018 fares. Not all council members agreed that transit should remain fare-free.
Council member Nikki Lee said the city is subsidizing transit using about 9% of the general fund. She argued that keeping transit fare-free is not sustainable.
“We’re continuing to direct tens of millions of dollars of our general fund into transit, which directly impacts our ability to invest in more services,” Lee said. “So looking through uncertainty on the data side, the underlying financial challenge is still very real, and we have to move this forward toward a balanced, sustainable model.”
Affecting the estimated revenue if fares were to be reinstated is an increase in low-income riders who would qualify for reduced fees.
“In 2025, approximately 71% of riders earned salaries low enough to qualify for the proposed free low-income fare,” the memo stated.
As fears over the U.S. economy grow, transit officials estimate a reduction in ridership if the city starts charging for transit again.
The cost savings and new revenue for the system, includes about $1.4 million in “minor service changes across the Sun Tran system” and eliminating Sun Tran Route 22, which goes from the Ronstadt Transit Center in downtown to the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, around the El Rio Golf Course and back to the downtown transit station. The Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Board of Directors voted in February to move the Tucson Campus to Oro Valley.
The analysis highlighted about $8.75 million in new revenue, including $2 million annually from Visit Tucson’s contribution, about $5 million from a recent public utility tax increase and increases to the local hotel tax.
Also helping address transit costs is the expected funding from the RTA Next plan, which voters approved in a special election last month. RTA Next extended a half-cent sales tax to fund regional road and transit projects for the next 20 years.
The transportation plan includes funding for streetcar operation costs, expanded bus service areas and hours and $51,000 in funding for transit safety and security.
Romero said Tucson taxpayers have been carrying a “financial burden” for other jurisdictions outside of city limits.
“It’s about time that we address the imbalances that the past executive director of the RTA has put on us. It’s very unfair, charging those credits to the city of Tucson — and not charging it to Oro Valley, Sahuarita, Pima County or Marana — really has been costing the city more than $2 million dollars a year,” Romero said. “So we really need to go back to the table, to work with Mr. (Michael) Ortega, the new executive director at the RTA, to redo the intergovernmental agreements that we have with them.”
Arizona Luminaria reached out to RTA officials after business hours.
The memo pointed out inequities in the city’s contribution to the RTA, arguing that Tucson pays more compared to other cities in the metro area. A policy that requires cities to cover revenue losses from fare-free services of Sun Shuttle and Dial-a-Ride has not been applied consistently across every city included in the RTA, Andy Bemis, deputy director of Transportation and Mobility told the council.
“The city of Tucson should no longer provide fare revenue credits to the RTA if the RTA is not collecting them from other PAG/RTA member jurisdictions,” the memo stated.
The city is expected to cover an estimated $2.7 million in fare revenue credits in fiscal year 2026.
Sun Shuttle is a fixed-route service for people in Marana, Oro Valley and Catalina, Green Valley and Sahuarita, Tucson Estates, the San Xavier District, Rita Ranch and Ajo.
The mayor said it’s important that Tucson continue working with the Safe City Task Force to improve safety along transit routes. As part of its transit safety plan, the city is working to add safety ambassadors, people who would help connect riders to services and resources.
Council member Lane Santa Cruz emphasized that returning to fares will not address safety issues. Bringing more riders to buses would actually reduce crime along bus routes, she said, citing Philadelphia’s and Minneapolis’ drop in serious crime as ridership increased.
“More riders means more eyes, more community presence, safer systems,” Santa Cruz said. “Fare-free is a safety strategy. A fare box is not.”
Lee said the city should go back to the community to see whether they want to move forward with fare-free transit.
“We need to hear broadly with as many Tucsonans as possible,” Lee said. “Not just anecdotal feedback. But real, structured input from across the community.”
She pointed to gaining feedback from local stakeholders, including fare-free transit advocates, the Teamsters, users of the transit system, the business community, city employees and public safety officials.
Attempting to replace Santa Cruz’s motion to direct city staff to renegotiate agreements with RTA, Lee moved to direct city officials to work on intergovernmental agreements with RTA, as well as to “conduct robust community engagement” for 90 days.
“I think this is disingenuous coming from a council member who has consistently said that they’re against fare-free transit, that they wouldn’t vote for a budget that continued to have fare-free,” Santa Cruz said of Lee’s position.
Romero said she believes there should be a strategic and longer than 90-day discussion with the community. She warned against hosting too general of meetings, where people might correlate drug-use and crime with fare-free transit without evidence.
Lee’s motion failed 3-4.
That made way for the council to vote on Santa Cruz’s original motion, which passed unanimously.
Council member Miranda Schubert said constantly returning to the discussion of whether to keep transit fare-free creates uncertainty for residents and holds city representatives back from planning solutions and strategies for how to fund a fare-free transit system long-term.
“I think it’s a waste of time to continue to threaten to reinstate fares when we know that 71% of the users of the system qualify as low income,” Schubert said.
It’s time for fare-free transit to be properly marketed as a service to all Tucsonans, she added.
“Universal access to transit, in fact, is an assurance and a certainty that we can provide in a time of extreme uncertainty,” Schubert said. “This should be the function of local government.”
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