Ozark Regional Transit, which operates bus lines in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville, is looking at the possibility of a dedicated revenue source, possibly a sales tax, to support those bus routes.
All the cities around here already collect over 9% sales tax. Are they seriously going to be able to get people to pay more sales tax? They must be kidding!
Why is the ORT looking for funds? Aren't they operating as a business? Isn't the fares they collect enough to pay all the expenses? There are small businesses operating taxis, limos, and courier services. They must be making profits. I don't see them asking the NWA cities for money.
I checked the fares on the ORT web site. They are charging $25 for a monthly pass. When I was a student in L.A. I bought a student monthly pass for $24. That was nearly 20 years ago. They are now charging adult students $36. The cost of a regular pass(no freeway) was $45 for an adult. They are now charging $62. Before the ORT starts looking for taxpayers to pay their bills, they really need to make their fares a little bit more realistic. A monthly pass of $25 is ridiculously low. They need to have the people who are using the buses pay for them.
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