By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Connect Transit bus riders will not see fare increases for the rest of this year.

The transit system’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to put off fare hikes until New Year’s Day. Fare increases were supposed to take effect this month, then put off until October.

The latest delay allows the recently-formed Connect to the Future working group to make recommendations, and for trustees to review the group’s findings.

Members met for the first time last weekend with the professional facilitator, who is being paid $53,425 to aid the working group.

Board Chair Mike McCurdy noted Bloomington City Council member Jeff Crabill has praised the working group’s makeup, and that members appeared engaged and were not afraid to share their opinions.

“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into scouring the community to find a wide variety of people to serve on the working group. It’s also nice to hear that kind of feedback from an elected official,” McCurdy said.

The bus system was counting on receiving about $46,000 in revenue the rest of this year from the now-delayed fare increases, according to Connect Transit General Manager Isaac Thorne. He said federal money will be used to plug that budget hole.

Meantime, Thorne defended the board’s decision to spend $184,660 to install showers in the transit system’s maintenance building on Wylie Drive. Thorne said employees who get chemicals and diesel fuel on them are told drive home, take a shower, put on a clean uniform, and come back to work.

“I don’t think that’s an appropriate response from an employer’s standpoint, telling an employee to do that,” Thorne said.

Trustees voted unanimously to accept the bid from Normal-based contractor P.J. Hoerr to install the two showers.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]