There may be a possible increase in bus fares.

Stacey Wright is no stranger to riding the bus. Where she's from, it cost $1.

"From N.C. it's a dollar to most places to ride the bus," Wright said. Here in Columbia she's enjoyed rides at half that price. "When I first got here I was like wow the bus here is only fifty cents?"

But in less than two weeks, Columbia City Council may join cities across the nation in raising the price to a dollar.

Heavy rains did not stop Columbia residents from taking public transportation, but many are wondering if a price increase in bus fares will.

"There are some low income people out there who can't afford to ride the bus, and they're going to say to heck with it because we can't afford these ridiculous prices," bus rider Darrell Black said.

The Columbia Public Works Department says gas prices are to blame for the new rising fares.

"The past fiscal year we were a little over one hundred thousand dollars on fuel costs because of the rise in diesel cost which has affected our overall budget for Columbia Transit," Jill Stedem of the Columbia Works Department, said.

Columbia Public Transit runs about 30 buses a day, carrying thousands of riders per day.

If the Public Works Department doesn't cut costs with bus fares, they'll have to find other areas in the budget to cut back.

"We'll have to look at other alternative methods of cutting back and saving costs where we can to help with the fuel costs we've been facing," Stedem said.

The city council will vote on the issue September 15.  That meeting is open to the public.