In response to Governor Rell’s proposal to balance the budget by hiking bus service fares by 40% and rail fares by 10%, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Connecticut Speaker of the House Chris Donovan and Representatives Cameron Staples, Tony Guerrera, Toni Walker and Richard Roy as well as Transit for Connecticut, Tri-State Transportation Campaign and Environment Connecticut held a press conference on the New Haven Green this past Wednesday to denounce the proposal.
Citing a recent Tri-State analysis of census data that shows that bus riders earn incomes that are half as much as drivers, the participants called the fare increases a de facto regressive tax increase and urged Governor Rell to find alternate revenue streams to plug the budget deficit in the upcoming special session.
Rell spokesperson Jeffrey Beckham dismissed concerns that the fare increase would impact transit riders’ transportation choices, calling the increases “modest” in interviews with several newspapers. According to the New Haven Independent, Beckham also said that if riders find the increases unpalatable, they could “walk or make some other arrangement.”
In fact, ten percent of Connecticut residents do not have access to an automobile, and Connecticut’s sprawling development patterns make walking an infeasible or even dangerous transportation option in some places.
The Rell administration has purchased new buses and has put muscle behind big transit projects like the Hartford-New Britain Busway. But the governor hasn’t done enough when it comes to basic improvements like expanded bus operations.
Image: via Connecticut Fund for the Environment.
James, I believe the “bailout” 10% Metro-North fare increase applies only to fares within New York. It does not affect Connecticut riders unless they purchase a ticket onboard the train. (The MTA board sets fares only within New York.)
However, Rell’s proposed 10% fare increase for trips beginning or ending in Connecticut is on top of already scheduled Connecticut fare increases – 1.25% in 2010 and 1% increases every year from 2011 to 2016.
The Rell spokesman’s response re: the 40% bus fare hike was sickeningly callous and regressive. I’m curious, though: would the proposed 10% Metro North fare hike within CT be on top of the forthcoming 10% fare hike for Metro North that is a component of the recent bailout plain?
Time to get rid of Rell. She hates cities and poor people.
[…] a budget without bus fare increases, a victory for transit advocates in Connecticut who have been fighting the governor’s proposed 40% fare hike on CT Transit buses and 10% fare hike on Metro-North […]