Jan. 25 -- GRAND FORKS -- Cities Area Transit is proposing the first increase in fares in more than a decade, increasing the standard fare by 33% from $1.50 to $2.
The current fares to ride public transit in greater Grand Forks were established in 2013. With increasing costs of operations, vehicles and personnel, Grand Forks Transit Director Dale Bergman said it's time for the fares to increase and also time to ask North Dakota to pick up more of the funding for public transportation.
"The biggest issue that we see is that all the states around us are funding transit," Bergman said. "The money that Minnesota puts into funding transit is tremendous."
Of the roughly $3 million Cities Area Transit budget, $290,000 comes from North Dakota, Bergman said. That $3 million is then split between local and federal cost share equally due the metropolitan area size, but the other half is funded by fares and other revenue from the city of Grand Forks. In East Grand Forks, a majority of the funds that East Grand Forks provides to Cities Area Transit comes from federal and state money.
Daily fares across the board would increase by 33% for both fixed route and paratransit services -- roughly between 20 cents and a dollar, depending on the service. Monthly and 14-day passes only increase by 14% to 16%, or $3 to $5.
There is a proposal in the North Dakota Legislature to increase the amount that the state gives municipalities to run their public transit systems.
"We're saying, 'Look, state, you can't play this game and have us have transit if you're not helping us fund it,'" Bergman said. "We're not saying they need to give us five, six, seven million dollars, we're looking at why don't you pony up and make an equal amount for what we need to operate?"
In the eyes of Bergman and the city, the state giving Grand Forks and other North Dakota cities more money lessens the financial burden placed on city tax dollars and riders to fund the system.
"When you start looking at the cost of a bus, which we're in the process of updating buses, you're talking $724,000 for a bus, and that does not include the operating costs," Bergman said. "We've raised the rate for the passengers, we've asked all we can from our federal government, and now we need (the state's) assistance because the citizens of Grand Forks shouldn't be stuck with the whole bill."
Cities Area Transit is run as a partnership between the cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. Additionally, the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Metropolitan Planning Organization, which oversees transportation planning across the metropolitan region, also gives input when changes are proposed. Cities Area Transit saw an estimated 273,000 trips in 2024 for fixed route services and 57,500 trips on dial-a-ride and paratransit services,
according to the mayor's 2025 budget presentation.
Two open houses are scheduled to allow the public to learn more about the proposed changes and to provide input. The first will be 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, at East Grand Forks City Hall. The second will be 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Grand Forks City Hall.
Any changes will need to be approved by both city councils and the MPO Executive Board before going into effect. More information about the changes and information can be found by calling Kristi Slominski at Cities Area Transit at 701-757-1503.