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…