How to Ride

Traverse City Transportation

Use this page to navigate to find which bus you need, fare prices, how to schedule rides, and how to pay. Download our BATA-in-a-nutshell one-pager here.

If you don't find the answer here or on our site, don't hesitate to give us a call at (231) 941-2324, email Customer Service, or try our trip planning guides.

You may also stop by one of our Traverse City transfer stations.

Finding Your Route

The first step to riding BATA is to determine which route is going to take you from where you are to where you need to be, especially if you are looking for how to get around Traverse City. BATA offers not only Traverse City transportation, but transportation to the surrounding areas! Click here to visit our maps and schedules page to determine the right ride for you. Keep in mind, you may need to transfer buses along your route. Remember to request a transfer ticket from your bus driver if you need to take multiple buses to reach your destination.

Once you determine the correct bus for your trip, be sure to arrive to the bus stop a few minutes early. Bay Area transportation drivers do their best to arrive on time, so if you're one or two minutes behind, you may miss your ride! When the bus pulls up, use the screen on the front of the bus to determine you are boarding the correct route.

Next, allow any passengers that are getting off the bus to do so before you board, which is a good tip to keep in mind when learning how to get around Traverse City by bus. When its' your turn to board the bus, you can hand the bus driver your payment.

Paying for Your Ride

When you board the bus for your Traverse City transportation journey, the driver will start by collecting your bus fare. The bus fare will depend on the route you are taking and whether you qualify for a reduced fare. You can view a schedule of the Bay Area Transportation fares here.

BATA buses accept cash and fare cards to pay for your ride. Fare cards may be purchased at one of the bus stations in Traverse City. We also accept , a mobile ticketing solution! Journey allows you to pay for your ride with an app. Learn more about mobile ticketing here.

Do you have a phone and need to board a bus? Pay with the journey app!

BATA Dial a Ride: Bus Ride On Demand

Did you know requesting a ride on demand with BATA is as easy as logging into an app or using BATA's dial-a-ride?

With theapp, you can request a ride any time! Similar to other ride share apps, you can request a ride from most places in Traverse City when you need it.

Would you like to use a phone app to request a ride now? Click Here.

Or, Check out this video!

Looking to get a LINK dial-a-ride bus? Call 231-941-2324 or check out our how-to video here!

Trip Planner

Whether you're traveling across town or just making a short trip to the library, BATA has easy-to-use technologies that make it simple to find the best route for you.

Google Transit:

Try BATA's Trip Planner by entering your starting and ending destinations into the Google Transit trip planner. Google has all of BATA's City and Village Loop route and schedules built into Google Maps, so you can use technology to do your planning for you.

Google Transit Trip Planner

Transit Mobile App:

Download the Transit mobile app to find the BATA routes closest to your location. Or, pick a destination, and step-by-step instructions for your trip will be immediately provided on the app.

iPhone Apple iTunes App Store

Android / Google Play App Store