MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Public Transit in Martin County is now free.
On November 4, the county commission approved free fares on their Marty buses.
The original fare was $1.50.
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County leaders said it costs around $3 million to run the service. About one-third of the funds are from county taxpayers, the rest from state and federal grants.
Ash Beecher, Transit Administrator for Martin County, said they came to the decision after looking at free fare studies in St Lucie and Indian River County, both with an increase in ridership after offering free rides.
Beecher said part of the formula for state block grants for transit is based on ridership.
“As we remove these fares, our hope is that ridership will increase, as it has for many other transit services that went fare-free,” said Beecher. “ And as ridership increases, the block grant will also increase.”
Marty operates 5 fixed routes, 14 buses, and 67 bus stops.
Last year, County leaders said the service took in around $156,000 in fares.
Since 2021, the county has seen a 66 percent increase in ridership, from around 73,000 riders annually to around 122,000 in 2025.
WPTV spoke to rider Joshua Reed, who said he uses Marty 5 days a week. Reed said the change to free fares is convenient for the community.
“That [fare] adds up over time. That's like $15 a week. That's $60 a month. I mean, that's a phone bill for a lot of people,” said Reed. For me, it's pretty convenient and I know for other people it would be too.”
County leaders said the free rides will not impact taxpayers or this fiscal year's budget.
