Although no changes will take place this semester, students taking Cy-Ride’s Orange Route to campus from the Iowa State Center may soon be required to fork over a quarter to ride.

The local Transportation Advisory Council has proposed several income-generating options to help fund the Orange Route. A 25-cent fare for those getting on the bus at the Iowa State Center parking lots is one proposal. The short ride is currently free.

Another possibility is requiring students to buy a bus pass to ride the Orange Route from the Iowa State Center, but students commuting from out of town would receive free passes.

There may be another option. Adam Gold, Government of the Student Body president, and his cabinet members are working on a plan to keep the Orange Route free to students.

“Right now there is no proposal,” he said, “but we are going through an information-seeking process. GSB is looking for information from anyone that will offer.”

Last month, Cy-Ride’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $3.2 million budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The budget requires the city of Ames, GSB and the university to increase subsidy payments by 4 percent.

GSB allocated $857,000 to Cy-Ride last year. A 4-percent increase would up that to $891,000. Cy-Ride would need another $50,000 on top of that from GSB to keep the Orange Route free.

Gold said he wants to increase Cy-Ride’s allocation, although it might mean less funding for some student groups.

Doug Houghton, parking systems coordinator, said the administration and the parking division have also been subsidizing the Orange Route to keep it free.

The route was originally part of a process for moving people between the College of Veterinary Medicine and campus. The university paid a subsidy to Cy-Ride for the service.

Eventually a plan was developed to use the Iowa State Center for student, faculty and staff parking. The Orange Route was then developed as a commuter service.

The problem, Houghton said, was that students who lived in Ames would drive to the Iowa State Center, park, then ride the Orange Route at no charge, as opposed to riding the other bus routes or buying a semester bus pass. The service wasn’t intended to provide free rides for all off-campus students.

“The increase in the use of the Iowa State Center lot has so dramatically increased in the last few years the university subsidy has not kept up,” he said.

The Orange Route does bring in revenue through boarding fees at Maple-Willow-Larch Halls and the Rec Center.