BLOOMINGTON - State Farm Insurance Cos. and the Bloomington-Normal Transit System want to gauge how many of the insurer's more than 14,000 employees might use the city buses if they were more familiar with the service.

So, in late April and May, the two entities will co-sponsor a free ride promotion for the Bloomington-based company.

In another matter, the board voted to expand a separate free-ride program on its fixed routes for senior citizens to include riders with disabilities.

State Farm is encouraging its mass transit option as part of its environmental efforts within the company, said Melanie Overend, spokeswoman for the transit system.

From April 21 to May 17, a rider who shows a city bus driver a State Farm badge - either as an employee or a contracted worker - won't be charged for the ride. Drivers will keep track of when those passengers board, and State Farm will reimburse the transit system the 75-cent fare, said Pete Weber, transit system general manager.

He met with State Farm transportation staff in January and organized the late spring free-ride promotion.

Prior to the promotion, transit staff will set up booths during Lunch 'N Learn events at State Farm sites: March 31, State Farm corporate headquarters; April 1, Corporate South; and April 3, the downtown fire building. Each lunch hour event will allow employees to find out more about the transit system and create trip planners for individualized ride requirements.

Currently, the standard Yellow G and Red B routes make morning and evening stops at Regency and Rust roads, near State Farm headquarters. At this point, riders could catch a ride on State Farm's shuttles to the insurer's corporate south or downtown sites.

On Tuesday, during the transit system board's monthly meeting, trustees unanimously authorized the promotion, praising the initiative.

"This is great. This is what we'd like to see - more folks that elect to ride with us, rather than riding because they have no other choice," said Neil Finlen, board chairman.

He said if enough people opt to use the bus for getting to State Farm sites, cramped parking lots and traffic congestion on city streets might be eased as well.

Seniors, disabled to ride free

A new state law, which takes effect March 17, will allow senior citizens free access to Illinois city buses. But the transit board voted to broaden this law to include all riders with federally recognized disabilities.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushed for the benefit for seniors earlier this spring, and legislation was amended to include it.

Weber said of nearly 70,000 senior and disabled passengers the transit system recorded in 2007, fewer than 15 percent were disabled. At that rate, he estimated the system will lose $4,000 a year in revenue from those fares.

The transit system will allow participants to ride any of its fixed routes for free with either a transit system-issued ID or a Medicare card.

Those cards will be available at the transit business office, 104 E. Oakland Ave., Bloomington. Normal City Manager Mark Peterson and Bloomington City Manager Tom Hamilton, who each sit on the transit board, said their offices could offer the IDs as well.

As part of the state law implementation, the transit system also will stop offering senior citizens' fare tokens. However, from March 17 to May 30, the tokens may be redeemed at full value at the transit system's Oakland Ave. office.