MACON, Ga. — The Macon Transit Authority announced plans to raise its bus fare in January, from $1.25 to $1.75.
It would be the authority's first rate hike in 15 years, but a Macon-Bibb County commissioner and the Bibb County NAACP are pushing back.
They say it's not fair.
"It's just a shame that the rates are going up now. It's a dollar and a quarter. They say it's going higher than that," rider Sean Stephens said.
Stephens rides the bus every day.
"Going to work, and just coming downtown. I don't have transportation. I've never had none. So I have to ride the bus," he said.
Stephens works at Famous Mike's and loves the job. Getting to work is the tricky part of his day.
"I'm in Macon. It's not that the bus doesn't come by the house. It comes every day. It's just the money," he said.
Stephens is part of the 20% of Maconites who don't have access to a car, according to Commissioner Elaine Lucas.
"[They] depend on public transportation for getting back and forth wherever they go. And then the most important thing is getting to work," she said. "When the Macon Transit Authority proposes to increase the fare for some of the poorest people in the community, I have a real serious problem with that."
Macon Transit Authority CEO Craig Ross says nobody wanted to increase the rate. He says inflation hit hard, with gas expenses up nearly double from before the pandemic.
"Inflation is inflation. I mean, we've got to live. We've got to live. We've got to take a ride," Robert Reynolds said in January.
Ross says many of the people he spoke to felt the same way. His staff rode every bus route asking for opinions.
Ross says nobody had anything negative to say. He said they're trying to shield people from inflation as much as possible.
That's why the new rate would include a bus transfer. This applies if you need to change buses. Transfers currently cost 50 cents each.
Stephens and Lucas feel the increase just isn't the answer. They'd like to see things stay the same, or even decreased.
"Some people don't deserve to be treated unfairly. That's how they're treating us, man," Stephens said.
Ross says none of this is final just yet.
They still have to put ads in the Telegraph inviting people to hearings so they can voice their concerns about the possible increase.
Ross says those ads will start running in April, with two hearings scheduled in May. After those hearings, the board will make its final decision.