Why bus stops in Tucson have become a political flashpoint

Tucson’s bus and bus stop system has come under criticism recently.

There have been some instances of violence at bus stops, including one in which a victim was killed at a streetcar stop. There are also reports of drug use. This comes as the city debates whether to continue its practice of not charging a fare to ride the bus; it’s possible that program could end in the not-too-distant future.

Tim Steller, metro columnist for The Arizona Daily Star, has written about all of this and joined The Show to discuss as part of our ongoing Throwing Shade series.

Full conversation

MARK BRODIE: Tim, how big a topic of conversation is the bus system in Tucson?

TIM STELLER: It's a big topic of conversation. Part of it's because a lot of people don't believe in the idea of fair free transit. And then separately, there's this issue that I wrote about on Sunday, which is, the presence of congregations of drug users, especially at bus stops, certain bus stops in town, certain times. It's become a more and more visible phenomenon around town.

BRODIE: Are there people who equate the free fair situation with all those folks congregating around bus stops?

STELLER: For sure. The, the debate, there's plenty of people who, who make that equation. The question is whether it's fair. I, I, I think it is to, in a couple of ways.

One is that, of course, the people using drugs at the bus stops often do use the bus. They may use it to get where they are or where they're using, or they may use it after they're done. They, you know, so there is a, an, a link. But more importantly, there's kind of a political link, which is that those who oppose fare-free transit see these people crowded around the bus stop and say, “you know, you see, this is what happens when you don't force people to pay a fare to ride the bus.”

BRODIE: Which is kind of an interesting conundrum, right? Because the whole point for the city of not charging a fare was to get more people to ride the bus, right?

STELLER: Yeah, I mean, and it's a tough call because, it's not like everybody in Tucson was riding the bus before fare-free transit. Ridership peaked back in 2015, I think it was 2015, and then there was a, a driver's strike, and it's been lower than that ever since.

So, I mean, it's a car town just like Phoenix is, you know, so it's, so it's a relatively slim part of the population that rides the bus at all. I find it very useful not to have to pay a fare because I'm not an everyday bus user. I, I do it occasionally, and, it's just great to be able to hop on and hop off without thinking about it.

On the other hand, it's true that there are more street people who, who use the bus, and some of them are, have bothersome habits, you know, it's a tough call because these people, part of the idea is that poor people, can then use the bus without having to pay for it and without even having to try to get a bus pass.

So it's, on the one hand, it's a good thing that poor people are using it. On the other hand, some of the behavior that you see can be discouraging to the general public from riding the bus.

BRODIE: What did you hear from fellow bus riders as you were reporting and writing this piece about some of these issues?

STELLER: You know, I've done this quite a few times now, writing about bus, the fair-free transit issue and buses in general. And that is, I get on, I go to bus stops, I talk to people. And the truth is that most people, most of the time have totally normal and fine experiences riding the bus.

The issue that has cropped up is that like one woman I talked to for quite some time was so upset, even though she's a poorer person, she said she'd happily pay fares if it would keep the fentanyl smokers away from the bus stops where she, sometimes has to catch the bus. She said she, you know, basically stands away from the bus stop, and then when the bus arrives, she kind of hurries toward it and covers her mouth past the fentanyl smokers. And that's not something anyone should have to deal with. Now, they are doing things about it, but, but, you know, you can't patrol every stop all day long.

BRODIE: Is that what the doing something about it tends to entail, having patrols near the stops?

STELLER: Yeah, of course. I mean, they have private security who, who looks at the stops, and I, I was surprised to see private security guards ejecting people from bus stops. And in fact, when I talked to some people, they said, indeed, we get kicked out all the time. It's just that, you know, it's, it's a monumental task to, to monitor all the bus stops all the time.

And, and people have a right to sit at the bus stop and wait for the bus. So there's always that, you know, question as well, are they actually waiting for the bus or are they just doing drugs or hanging out?

BRODIE: Is there reason to believe that if the city reinstituted fares for the bus, that there would be less drug use at bus stops?

STELLER: That's a great question, and we, we, you know, we don't know for sure. I mean, certainly there are people who can't afford anything because they are too hooked on drugs. And so, I don't know, it's possible that they wouldn't be able to ride the bus.

Is that what we want? I don't know, that's a question. So, I, I think it's a, it's an indirect relationship between the congregations at bus stops and, and fare-free transit. But, but it could have an impact if they reinstituted fares.

BRODIE: I know that in Phoenix, the, sort of the structure of bus stops has often been a topic of discussion in terms of, are they benches, are they single seats like with armrests in between that can discourage people from laying on them? Is there enough shade? Is there not enough shade?

Is that something that is an issue in Tucson as well?

STELLER: Oh yeah, it's the same, same situation. And you know, I think if the truth be told, the primary attraction of the bus stops is shade, especially in the summer, you know, it's just people congregate where there's shade. It helps that you can also get to and from there by just stepping on or off, off the bus as well.

But yeah, there's a, every variety I'm sure that you can see in Phoenix exists in Tucson, that is stops without any bench or anything, and then stops with benches, stops with benches and shades, and it's the one with, it's the stops with shades that, of course, attract people.

BRODIE: Yeah, I would, I would imagine that even, you know, regardless of the fare situation, regardless of for example like drug use or anything, you know, other illicit activity, the fact that there is shade at these bus stops, I would imagine even if you're not riding the bus, would be an attractive selling point, for example, to maybe people who are experiencing homelessness.

STELLER: Absolutely. And then it's a bigger social phenomenon because, you know, for example, Santa Rita Park, the park that had the largest population of unhoused people is closed now and being renovated. So the, the places where people normally hang out and get some shade are not as available as they once were.

And frankly, there's a lot of increasing social tension, I would say, here about where such people can and should be. You know, there's, there's, I would say increasing anger on the part of, of residents that there are, you know, on house people occupying certain parks or certain places and, and, and this so the bus stops are just probably a microcosm of that greater debate.

BRODIE: Is this something that it looks like the City Council's gonna have to be dealing with at some point in the not too distant future?

STELLER: Oh yeah, very soon. So, just, about six weeks ago, the City Council chose to pursue a study that they have to do in order to reinstitute fares. That doesn't mean they're going to, but it's a precursor, it's a requirement to actually reinstituting fares.

Now, the council has been unanimous in supporting fare-free transit for a couple of years. It's been two years that Tucson itself has been paying for the fare-free transit as opposed to the federal government.

So in a couple of weeks or in the next month or so, we're expecting the council to get the study and to maybe decide right then or begin deciding whether to try to reinstitute fares.