In a Jan. 19 intercom post, Melanie Reyes, executive assistant in the Division of Finance and Administration at Ithaca College, announced the Tompkins County Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) will continue to provide free rides during the spring semester to Ithaca College students with a valid college ID. 

TCAT rides have been free for Ithaca College students since Aug. 2023 when the college decided to cover the cost of student rides. The decision was made to cover the cost because the college struggled to make student IDs compatible with TCAT’s new fare collection system. 

Reyes said in the intercom post that the college is subsidizing all student TCAT fares because the college realizes there is a significant disruption required to accommodate the delay of the new fare collection system integration.

“To continue the use of our treasured community transportation system and to ease the impact to the Ithaca College community, students can continue to ride for free during the Spring semester … just like employees are always able to do,” Reyes said in the post. 

To have their fare subsidized, the college’s students must show the TCAT bus driver a valid Ithaca College ID before entering the bus. The $1.50 cash fare is required upon entry if a student forgets their ID. 

The college and TCAT will continue to work on an online portal for students to order subsidized bus passes online during Spring 2024. Once finished, the portal will allow students to receive a discounted bus fare once the free bus fare ends in May 2024.