The cost to ride the Rapid, the Grand Rapids city bus system, has increased by 25 cents for users of the Wave Card. Starting this fall, Calvin is decreasing its subsidy of the popular Wave Card program that gives students access to reduced fares on the Rapid. Still, students and staff are optimistic that the vital program will continue to serve the community well.

The Wave Card is a subsidised payment system for the Rapid bus system, allowing students to “tap on” the bus and only pay 75 cents per ride, as opposed to $1.50 for a standard adult ride for the general public. Until this fall, the cost per ride for Calvin students utilizing the Wave Card was 50 cents.

Wave Cards are made accessible to students through the Service-Learning Center (S-LC). Director of Service-Learning Annie Mas-Smith commented on the current success of the program, with over “1000 active cards in our system” accumulating around “1000 taps a month” from a mix of both regular and irregular users.

“We have students, staff, faculty, emeriti and Seminary students all taking advantage of this amazing program.” Due to recent promotion of the program and increased visibility of the S-LC office, now located behind Peet’s, Mas-Smith said, “We have definitely seen an increase in ridership.”

Darynn Trumble, a senior studying Elementary and Special Education, spoke to Chimes about her experience as a regular rider on the Rapid. “I have had teaching placements the past two semesters, and the way to get to my placement, since I don’t have a car, is by using the Rapid. Having the reduced wave card from Calvin has been a huge blessing since last semester…without it, the cost of riding the bus every day would really have added up.”

The program is part of a larger partnership between Calvin and the Rapid. Mas-Smith explained that “we receive a partner rate for rides, which is slightly lower than the public rate. Calvin then subsidizes 40% of every ride, which we are billed for each month.”

According to Mas-Smith, the partner cost increased in 2023. Back then, prices were not adjusted for Wave Card users; the change is now being made to keep the program sustainable. “Because we believe so strongly in promoting access to Grand Rapids and caring for creation through rideshare programs, we want to ensure that we can sustain the program and our partnership through reasonable cost-sharing with participants,“ said Mas-Smith.

Trumble commented on the increase in price. “Since I take the bus regularly, the difference between two 50-cent trips a day vs two 75-cent trips per day will add up,” noting that after the price change, she “probably will still use the Rapid, since it will still be better than paying the normal amount.”

Mas-Smith was not worried that the change in price would affect ridership. “We still process, on average, a card a day for new riders or help people reload their card.” She continued, explaining that “increasing from 50 cents to 75 cents was intentionally a minimal increase — you can still get most places (round trip) for $1.50 which is less than a one-way ride ($1.75) without the Wave Card.”

The S-LC offers a number of programs and continues to be a resource to help students get cards and get familiar with riding the Rapid. “We always are happy to help explain how it all works, how to reload your card, how to navigate the bus, which routes and apps are best to use, and we are even willing to ride the Rapid with people as they are first starting out.”

Mas-Smith said, “Our hope is to reduce any stigma or worry about using public transportation to get around the Grand Rapids community.”The Rapid was contacted by Chimes for comment, but Chimes was unable to receive a response at the time of publishing.