"The policy [requires] passengers [who ride free] to have [ID] in hand from the time they board a PVTA bus until they leave the bus stop area at their final destination," according to the PVTA web site.
A valid student ID or a valid employee ID is sufficient to allow those associated with the five-college consortium to ride free. All others will be required to pay a fare of one dollar.
Prior to July 1, fares on all the Amherst-based routes were free of charge. However, the PVTA said that cuts in state funding necessitated the policy. "We regret having to discontinue our tradition of free transportation on our Amherst-based, fixed bus routes," said PVTA Administrator Gary A. Shepard in a statement on the PVTA's web site. "However, significant cuts in state funding to regional transit authorities, including the PVTA, combined with sharply increased operating costs, have made it impossible to serve our customers without more revenue."
Al Byum of UMass Transit, the company that administrates the bus routes, seconded Shepard's sentiments.
"There is a major financial crisis in the state, so we had no choice," said Byum.
According to Byum, concern about keeping PVTA vans running also necessitated the policy change. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the PVTA provides a van service to people who cannot ride the buses because of a disability.
"It's not just about the buses," said Byum. "We really did it so that we could afford to keep the vans running. Legally we can only charge twice the bus fare on the vans and if buses were free, the vans had to be also."
The policy is being referred to as the "honor system" by the PVTA because students will be on their honor to have student ID's if and when an inspector is on board doing ID checks.
The PVTA's web site implies that ID checks will be random, but some students say their experiences have indicated that "random" is not the word to use.
"The first time I rode the bus I hadn't been informed of the new policy," said Smith College sophomore Jocelyn Gordon. "I was boarding the bus and the driver asked me to show ID. When I didn't have mine with me, he asked me to leave the bus."
"So far I've been asked to show ID every time I've used the busses," said Gordon. "It's a little bit of a hassle, but it's not too annoying once you get used to it," she said.
Other students recognized that, although the new policy may be a hassle, it is probably necessary considering the current financial situation.
"I think it's a good policy," said Andrew Phillips '07. "If they are going to charge us to ride the buses they have to verify that we are actually students in some way. That way they prevent the public from trying to cheat their way on by posing as students or faculty."
The punishment for those who ride the buses for free without ID is still somewhat unclear. "If you're caught, the first time you'll probably receive a warning," said Byum. "If you're caught a second time you will be removed from the bus."
Byum did not comment on exactly how a record of warnings would be kept or enforced.