Refugees in need could soon be saving some money on transportation.
UTA plans to extend its current refugee program, allowing qualified riders to purchase bus passes for half price.
The deal, a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Catholic Community Services and the Asian Association of Utah, would sell passes to agencies at half price. They would then sell them to qualifying refugees at cost.
UTA currently sells half-price passes to several agencies, who can then give them to needy individuals for free, said UTA's Gerry Carpenter. But those passes are only available for the first few months, and then refugees face a $67 price tag for their own passes.
The discount will provide some relief to a needy population, said IRC's Patrick Poulin. Soon after their arrival, IRC caseworkers help refugees learn to manage the bus system, often before they can speak English.
Mastering transportation is crucial to success, Poulin said.
"It allows people to have a more normalized life and to integrate into the community faster," Poulin said.
Paying half the regular fare would certainly help the Gurung family, recent arrivals from Bhutan, located in South Asia near China. All three siblings need a bus pass for traveling to school and work, and the $201 is one of their biggest monthly expenses.
Sisters Sova and Shusma take two busses from their downtown apartment to 3900 South, where they have English classes and work as CNAs. Their jobs do not have set hours, so some weeks they work full time, others only 24 hours. The variability of income makes saving money paramount.
Their 16-year-old brother Purna attends East High, but lives outside of the school bus boundaries, so he also rides UTA.
Not all refugees will qualify for the discounted passes. They must be certified as low income, at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or receive government assistance buying food. Those who qualify can receive the half-price passes for 18 months, Carpenter said.
Carpenter said UTA is still drawing up the paperwork, but all parties involved indicate a willingness to sign. They expect the deal to go through within two weeks.
