Sun Tran briefly scrapped its shuttle that allows UA football fans to park at locations around the city and ride to Arizona Stadium for a small fare, but the shuttle will run for the 2011 season.
The program was disbanded because of budget cuts, but the City of Tucson, Sun Tran and the UA developed a plan that utilizes fewer shuttles, though that may increase wait times for the nearly 3,000 fans that used the shuttle for each home game in the 2010 season.
Sun Tran was able to recoup $42,000 in fares in 2010, but that did little to offset $146,000 in operating costs, said Michele Joseph, a spokeswoman for Sun Tran. While raising the fare may seem like the obvious thing to do, federal regulations prevent the Sun Tran from charging more than double its normal fare, which is now $1.50, because it receives federal funding.
Sun Tran is also prevented from accepting money from a third party because of government regulations.
Passengers can park at Rillito Regional Park, El Pueblo Neighborhood Center or Hi Corbett Field free of charge and ride to Arizona Stadium for $3 round-trip.
The shuttle will begin carrying passengers to the stadium two hours before kickoff and, and passengers can begin boarding the shuttle on Sixth Street from the beginning of the fourth quarter until 45 minutes after the game’s conclusion.
