Rides on Rock Region Metro buses and streetcars will be free on Election Day, Nov. 8, to help voters get to and from the polls, the agency's board of directors decided Tuesday.
The free rides will be available to all passengers on all fixed-route buses in the service area of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Maumelle and unincorporated areas of Pulaski County.
The free service will be a test before the directors consider extending a no-fare policy to other election days, such as school board elections and special elections.
Rock Region Metro staff members had recommended extending free rides to any passenger carrying a voter registration identification card on any election day.
Directors, however, said they didn't want to require the identification, to avoid creating a "hurdle" for any passenger on election days. Having to check IDs also would fall to bus drivers and possibly cause delays, some said.
It was also pointed out that any special elections would likely be in only one city -- such as Maumelle, which only has express routes -- so offering systemwide free rides for those elections would provide an unnecessary perk for people outside the city in question, some directors said.
The financial loss of one day's fares is estimated to be $3,500, a "nominal" effect, Rock Region Metro staff members reported.
Metro on 10/19/2016