Faced with deficits of over $400,000 as a result of increased health care and operations’ costs, the Greater Bridgeport Transit board raised fares by 16% for 7- and 31-day fare passes and 12.5% for youth passes last week. This is the second GBT fare hike in the past two years.
Allowing bus riders, who earn $30,000 less than those who drive to work, to bear the brunt of funding a system without asking drivers — who benefit the most from the congestion busting effects of good service — is the most inequitable solution available.
However, what is most disturbing is the lack of outrage from Connecticut’s elected officials. Much has been made of Connecticut elected officials’ opposition to the “stealth fare hikes” facing Metro-North commuters in the form of reduced or eliminated discounts on tickets purchased by mail and online. No one has yet come to the defense of Greater Bridgeport bus riders.
Photo: flickr/Wally_Wabbit.
What is the new fare and what percentage of the operating cost is covered from the fare box?
[…] other states in the region. The Bridgeport Transit Authority raised fares in October, though this garnered little notice from politicians compared to the much larger outcry over relatively small fee increases on […]