Getting around Fresno will get cheaper on Monday when FAX bus rides become free
Fresno buses will be free to ride starting Monday.
The Fresno City Council voted this month to forgo fees for Fresno Area Express (FAX) bus rides to ease pandemic costs for riders, most of whom don’t make much money, don’t have a car and live in central and south Fresno. Rides on Handy Ride paratransit vehicles also will be free.
The proposal from freshman Councilmember Tyler Maxwell makes Fresno the largest municipality countrywide to offer free bus rides. He hopes making rides free will also encourage fewer people to drive cars, which are one of the bigger causes of air pollution in Fresno.
It remains unclear how long the free rides will last. City staffers must crunch the numbers to see how to pay for the program, dubbed the “Zero Fare Clean Air Act,” longterm.
In the meantime, seating on FAX buses will be limited to 10 passengers per route and three per Handy Ride vehicle to comply with social distancing requirements and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. All passengers and drivers are required to wear masks.
Staff will continue to disinfect all vehicles each night. Sanitation efforts also will expand at major transit hubs around the city.