SANTA CLARITA : Shopping Mall to Offer Free Bus Rides
Free rides on Santa Clarita city buses will be offered Friday and Saturday by management of the Valencia Town Center shopping mall to help stimulate pre-holiday retail activity in a sluggish economy.
Both days immediately following Thanksgiving were chosen for the program because they mark the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season, officials said.
Sponsorship of the free rides is expected to cost about $750 per day, based on Santa Clarita Transit’s average of 1,500 passengers daily, said Jeff Kolin, deputy city manager for public works.
Fares any other time are 50 cents, with transfers issued at no charge. The city also provides discounts for students, senior citizens and the handicapped.
“It’s a good promotion for both of us, at minimal cost,” Kolin said. “It provides more exposure for the mall, and it helps us market our transit service.”
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