Bloomington Normal's public bus system will continue free rides through the first week in November.
The Connect Transit board has suspended fare collections on fixed route and Connect Mobility Paratransit services as part of its response to the pandemic.
That makes close to nine months of free rides, so far. Connect Transit estimates the lost fares total about $80,500 per month for an estimated total that will top $700,000 by the time the current extension is due to expire.
The agency said federal relief funding will replace some of that lost revenue.
Connect Transit continues to run reduced routes to allow extra cleaning of buses.
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