TheRide partners with Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti libraries to offer free bus rides this summer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (TheRide) is partnering with the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti district libraries to offer free bus rides to the local community this summer.
The Free Ride Weekends program offers complimentary bus rides on Saturdays and Sundays to individuals with a valid AADL or YDL library card.
"(It was developed) to try and get people used to the bus," said AADL communications and marketing manager Rich Retyi. "It can be a little intimidating. Your first ride, getting on the bus, paying -- all the ways to do it. So, we made Free Ride Weekends with TheRide so that you show your library card, you get in for free."
Retyi said all AADL branches are conveniently located near bus stops.
"It's a good opportunity to support our community and get some new riders who maybe don't use public transportation regularly to get on our buses and see what our service is like," said TheRide's Business Services Program Manager Lilliane Webb.
"They can take our buses which cover the greater Ann Abror and Ypsilanti area around," continued Webb, the director of TheRide's getDowntown initiative. "It's a great opportunity to help people get out and about not just in the city itself but the townships where we go as well."
On the buses, riders can find codes for Ann Arbor District Library's Summer Game. What began as a summer reading challenge for students has become an event the community now looks forward to.
"The library's always had a reading game that started on the last day of school," said Retyi. "So, kids would come in, they would get a little card and read 10 books over the summer. We found that kids were finishing all their books on that last day of school, and they had nothing else to do the rest of the summer, so there came the Summer Game."
The AADL Summer Game had 10,000 players last year, said Retyi. By capturing codes and participating in scavenger hunts, players can earn points to win prizes like T-shirts, stuffed animals, coffee mugs and more.
Free Ride Weekends will be offered through August 27.
For more information on how to get a library card, visit www.aadl.org and www.ypsilibrary.org.