City resumes front door boarding and discounted fare collection on all transit buses

​The City of Turlock will resume fare collection and front door boarding on all Turlock Transit buses effective Monday, October 12, 2020.  Fares will be discounted from the standard fare rates through June 30, 2021.

Fare collection on transit buses was suspended in April 2020 as part of the City’s COVID-19 response, which allowed for rear door boarding on most buses and provided physical separation between passengers and bus drivers.  This fare reduction also provided much needed financial relief to passengers struggling with the economic fallout of the pandemic response.  Since that time the City has implemented enhanced cleaning protocols on buses and in transit facilities, while also working with its transit operator to secure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for transit employees.

​The City has reduced the cost of fixed route period (All-Day and 31-Day) passes and Dial-a-Ride fares by 50%, as well as reduced fixed route Single-Trip fares to pre-July 2020 rates.  Grouped travel discounts on Dial-a-Ride have been suspended as part of continued efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and in recognition that existing discounts meet the original intent of the group travel discounts.

The costs for providing these services are offset by transit funding available from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP), and the Transportation Development Act’s (TDA) Local Transportation Fund (LTF).  In addition, California’s Assembly Bill (AB) 90, signed into law on June 29, 2020, waived penalties associated with failing to meet established fare recovery requirements, providing flexibility to transit agencies to keep fares low for passengers.

For more information, please visit http://www.turlocktransit.com or call (209) 668-5600.