Trailblazer Transit Fare Structure
Trailblazer Transit is part of the 5311 Public Transportation Participation Program administered by the MnDOT Office of Transit and Active Transportation and provides coordinated Dial-A-Ride bus service to the general public.
Bus Service – (Bus fares may be billed or paid on the bus.)
The bus fare is $4.00 per ride per person if the total distance for the ride is less than 25 road miles. The bus fare increases to $8.00 per ride per person if the customer travels 25 or more road miles. Fares are determined based on the assumption that the bus would travel directly to the customer’s destination. Additional miles driven to transport other customers are not included. The bus fare is discounted to $2.00 per ride per person if the origin and destination are located entirely within the same corporate city limits of any city within the service area. In general, the service area includes Sibley, McLeod, and Wright Counties and one mile around the county borders. A ride is defined as transportation in one direction from point A to point B.
Please Note: Bus tokens represent $2.00 each and are non-refundable. In addition, tokens are valid as payment only when boarding the bus and may not be used as payment for billed rides.
Special Bus System Pricing & Promotions
A) Promotional Rides – Trailblazer Transit will pay the fare the first time a customer uses the bus! The customer may ride round-trip (or up to two rides) anywhere in the service area under this promotion. Additional stops on the same trip and will-calls are excluded, as are rides for organizations with registered billing codes.
B) Children Under 2 – Trailblazer will pay the bus fare for children under the age of two who are accompanied by a paying caretaker traveling to the same destination.
C) Monthly Passes – The following monthly passes allow a customer to ride an unlimited number of times in a month for a specific purpose. Passes are available for purchase only by calendar month.
- Dining Card ($16) – Unlimited rides to and from any establishment where you can purchase and eat food on site. (Includes restaurants, cafes, bakeries, coffee shops, senior nutrition centers, and many other places!)
- Combo Card ($24) – This is an upgraded dining card that allows you to go shopping, as well. (Includes grocery stores, beauty salons, banks, post offices, discount stores, malls, and pretty much anywhere else you can buy a product or service! Day care and medical appointments are excluded.)
- Summer Recreation Card ($16) – Unlimited rides to and from any summer-related recreational activity or destination. (Includes swimming pools, parks, festivals, county fairs, libraries, summer school, driver’s ed, and day care.) This monthly pass is available only in June, July, and August.
- Day Care Provider Card ($60) – This pass allows a day care provider, either home or center-based, to transport children under the age of 12 to and from any destination except for the purpose of transferring care-taking responsibilities between the day care and the child’s parents or guardians. Any caretakers from the day care who accompany the children are also covered by this pass.
D) Hourly Rates – Any number of customers may ride the bus to unlimited destinations for $65 per hour per bus based on the actual bus arrival time (prior to loading) and departure time (after unloading). Hourly rates are charged out in fifteen-minute increments with a one-hour minimum per bus per day. Loading/unloading time plus any time spent in stand-by status shall be included in the cost calculation. Hourly rate pricing is excellent for group outings and shuttle service! Please note that Trailblazer does not provide private charter service and that the general public may ride at the same time on a space-available basis. Any additional time spent transporting other customers while providing service based on an hourly rate is not included in the overall cost. The pickup window policy does not apply for hourly rate service.
Premium Dial-A-Ride Service to Complement Trailblazer Transit
SMART-RIDE Fare Structure
SMART-RIDE is a locally-funded transportation program operated by Trailblazer Joint Powers Board that is not part of the 5311 Public Transportation Participation Program administered by the MnDOT Office of Transit and Active Transportation. SMART-RIDE van and bus service may be provided anywhere in the State of Minnesota but must begin or end within Sibley, McLeod, or Wright Counties. Service is available any time (24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year) provided the resources are available to deliver the service and weather conditions permit travel.
Van or Bus Service – (SMART-RIDE van or bus service will be billed.)
The fare for SMART-RIDE van or bus service is $2.50 per loaded mile, with a $65 minimum charge. (The minimum charge is equivalent to 26 loaded miles.) Trips may be one-way, round-trip, or multiple legs. The total fare for the bus or van service is divided by the number of parties being transported on each trip. There is no charge for waiting time, but the transit system reserves the right to provide two separate trips for extended wait times. For shuttle service and other special requests approved by the transit system, a SMART-RIDE van or bus may be used for $65 per hour with a one-hour minimum and billed out in 15 minute increments thereafter. Loading, unloading, and waiting time is charged out at the hourly rate. Travel time to the starting location and back from the ending location may be charged out at the discretion of the transit system.
All fares are established by the Trailblazer Governing Board and are subject to change.
For more information, please call 1-888-743-3828.