At a public hearing today, Tri-State spoke out for Suffolk County Transit riders, who could see a $.50 fare increase on May 1.
While acknowledging that fares haven’t been raised system-wide for two decades, Tri-State Policy Director Ryan Lynch urged County Executive Bellone and the Suffolk County Legislature to phase in the hike over three years. An incremental phase-in would ease riders’ financial burden and leave them free to spend their money at local businesses. Suffolk County Transit riders earn $20,000 less, on average, than motorists who drive to work alone, and the proposed increase could cost weekday bus riders an extra $100 in 2012.
Lynch also called on Suffolk County Transit to spend any excess revenue from fare hikes on service improvements. They were intended to generate $1 million in order to cover growing operating expenses, but Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget would give the county an additional $1.5 million for its bus system. This windfall presents an opportunity to expand service and attract new riders, and it should be used to that end.
A second public hearing on the fare hikes will be held on Thursday, March 1, from 3-7pm.
To read Tri-State’s full comments, click here.
Why shouldn’t the farebox cover the cost of operation? Bluntly, the problem is the that the fare wasn’t raised at least every ther years if not every other year. At 2 percent inflation over 2 decades, the fifty cent increase is just returning things to where they were two decades ago.
Because if that were the case, you’d only have a handful of bus routes left, and the fares would be extremely high on those remaining routes.
[…] use of CMAQ funding. Coupled with the revenues to be generated by a May 1 Suffolk County Transit fare hike and increased operating assistance from New York State, the CMAQ funds could allow the county to […]