The Change
WTA is proposing a major overhaul of its fare system. On paper, it looks like a simple “update” to match other agencies. In reality, it would double fares, end WWU’s universal student bus pass, and put the biggest burden on the people in Whatcom County who can least afford it.
What WTA is proposing
Under WTA’s proposal:
- Fixed route fares would double from $1 to $2 per ride.
- Reduced fares would increase to $1 per ride.
- Paratransit fares would rise to $3 per ride.
- Riders would pay per trip using Umo or a bank card, with new daily and monthly caps (up to $6 per day or $60 per month for fixed route, $30 for reduced fare).
- WWU’s universal student bus pass would end and students would be expected to pay individually.
WTA says these changes are needed because costs have risen and other transit agencies in Washington charge between $2 and $3 per ride. That comparison ignores a key fact. Whatcom County is not King County or Snohomish County. Our incomes are lower, our trips are different, and our riders are more dependent on every dollar.
Why this hurts Whatcom County riders
Whatcom County has a lower median income than many other urban counties in Washington. The people who ride the bus here are more likely to be low income, working class, students, or on fixed incomes. Many do not have a car at all. For them, the bus is not a convenience. It is a lifeline.
Doubling fares in this context is not a minor adjustment. It is a direct cut into already stretched budgets. When the price of one short ride jumps from $1 to $2, that might not shock someone with a high income in Seattle. In Bellingham and Whatcom County, it is the difference between making a trip or skipping it.
Higher fares do not fall evenly. People with more money can absorb them. People with less money either cut back their travel, take on more debt, or go without important trips entirely. That is why this proposal is deeply regressive. It takes the most from those who have the least.
Short trips, high fares, and fairness
Most WTA bus trips in Bellingham are short distance rides. Riders use the bus to get a few stops up the street for work, to the grocery store, to a clinic, or to campus. This is not the same as a long commuter express system where higher fares are tied to long travel distances.
Under the proposed system, a short three to five minute ride would now cost $2. The price does not reflect the distance traveled. Riders would be paying big city fares for short hops in a smaller, lower income community.
People in Whatcom County rely on cheap fares for short rides. That is exactly what makes the system usable for everyday needs. Changing that balance by doubling the fare breaks the basic promise of public transit. It turns a community service into a financial barrier.
How students will be affected
Right now, WWU students have a universal bus pass built into their fees. That system is simple and it works. Once they are on campus, students can tap their card and ride without constantly thinking about the cost of each trip.
WTA’s proposal would end that universal pass. Instead, students would need to pay per ride or load money onto Umo and manage a monthly cap of up to $60. For many students, that is simply not realistic. Tuition, rent, food, and textbooks already consume nearly every dollar they have.
Faced with a $2 fare every time they board and a $60 monthly pass, a lot of students will just stop riding the bus. They will walk long distances in bad weather, crowd into cars, or skip trips altogether. Others will try to drive, adding to traffic and parking pressure on and around campus.
The result will not be more revenue and a stronger system. It will be fewer student riders, a weaker transit culture, and a direct hit to WWU’s own climate and equity goals.
How disabled riders and seniors will be affected
Disabled riders, seniors, and paratransit users will be hit especially hard by these changes.
Reduced fares would go up to $1 per ride and paratransit fares to $3. For many people with disabilities, paratransit is not optional. It is the only way they can safely and reliably move through the community. Tripling what it costs them to ride public transit creates a huge barrier to independence.
Many disabled riders and seniors live on fixed incomes. Their benefits do not rise at the same pace as rent, food, and medical costs. When WTA raises fares this sharply, it forces impossible choices. Do they skip a medical appointment to save money? Do they give up a social outing that keeps them connected and mentally healthy? Do they cut back on groceries to afford a ride?
We should be removing barriers for disabled community members, not building new ones. A transit system that becomes too expensive to use is failing the very people it should serve first.
What this means for ridership and climate
WTA argues that the new fares would bring us “in line” with neighboring systems. But Whatcom County is not those places. When you dramatically raise fares in a lower income community where most trips are short, you do not just collect more money. You lose riders.
Lower ridership means fewer people using transit to get to work and school. It also means more cars on the road, more traffic, more emissions, and more strain on local streets and parking. That outcome directly contradicts the climate and transportation goals of WTA, WWU, the City of Bellingham, and Whatcom County.
A healthy transit system grows ridership by making it easy and affordable to ride. This proposal moves in the opposite direction. It asks the people with the least to pay the most and hopes they will keep riding anyway.
What we are asking for instead
Save The WTA is not arguing that costs have not gone up. We are arguing that doubling fares and ending the universal WWU student pass is the wrong way to respond.
We are asking WTA and WWU to:
- Keep base and reduced fares truly affordable for short, local trips.
- Preserve a universal student pass or negotiate a new agreement that keeps student transit within reach.
- Protect and prioritize access for disabled riders, seniors, and low income residents.
- Look for other budget solutions that do not push riders off the bus.
The change WTA is proposing is not just a technical adjustment. It is a choice about who gets to move freely in Whatcom County, and who gets left behind. This page exists so our community can see that choice clearly and speak up before it is too late.