Ball State University students with empty pockets do not need to worry about the suggested elimination of free student rides on Muncie Indiana Transit System buses, Assistant General Manager Mary Gaston said.
When 2007 budget proposals suggested MITS will need $500,000 more than its current budget of $6.9 million, a member of the community at a recent public hearing suggested that MITS solve this new challenge by charging Ball State students the 50 cent, one-way bus fare other passengers pay. Upon catching wind of this possibility, some students across campus were perturbed.
"It's obviously inconvenient for students," senior Candace Cummings said. "Students who live way off campus use [the MITS bus] to get to class, and there is nowhere to park."
However, MITS has not pursued this suggestion in any way, Gaston said.
"We don't have any plans to charge Ball State students at this time," she said. "We are pleased with student ridership."
In fact, student ridership plays an important role in MITS' ability to serve the Muncie public. MITS is funded partially through state and federal funds, and these funds are distributed based on the amount of public usage of the transportation system. Every year, MITS is in competition for funding with other public transportation systems in Bloomington, West Lafayette, South Bend and other towns within the state that have high need for public transportation, primarily college communities.
Free rides were first offered to Ball State students in 2003 as a way to relieve student expenses and increase federal funding for MITS.
MITS has been able to hold its own in this competition due to the high ridership provided by Ball State students, Gaston said.
"If we had not offered free rides to students, we would be getting less and less federal funding," she said.
Transportation systems in some other cities rely even more heavily on federal funding. According to Rayme Swan, assistant superintendent of transportation in Marion, 50 percent of Marion's transportation budget is supported by federal funds, while the state supports 25 percent and bus fares and local taxes make up the remainder.
Marion Transportation System's customers include students at Indiana Wesleyan University; however, unlike Ball State students, they do not receive free rides on public Marion buses.
MITS was the 2005 winner of the American Public Transportation Association's top honor, the Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award. This was awarded based on MITS' customer service.
While a higher budget must be met, MITS realizes that student ridership is necessary to receive the high amounts of federal funding, Gaston said. Ball State students will continue to enjoy this customer service at no personal charge, she said.
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