Patrick Anderson

panderson@argusleader.com

Free summer bus rides could become permanent for Sioux Falls youth under a proposal heading to City Council.

City officials premiered the summer bus program in 2015, giving kids free rides during June, July and August. The program is renewed yearly by the council, but members proposed making it permanent Tuesday after a glowing report from transportation staff.

“We can’t prove the long-term positive on it yet, but we can prove that more kids are getting places in the summer,” City Councilor Michelle Erpenbach said.

Ridership jumped 24 percent this summer, with Sioux Area Metro buses giving more than 11,000 rides to local children. The numbers were reported to councilors during an informational meeting. Councilors used the program’s growing popularity to justify making it a fixture.

A proposal will come to the council in December.