Robinson Newspapers

Amid a record number of people using Metro Transit, the King County Council voted on Monday to increase bus fare under a two-step schedule.

Executive Ron Sims proposed a 50 cent fare increase as part of his 2009 budget proposal on Oct. 13. The fare ordinance adopted by the council calls for fares for adults and those using the Access van service to increase 25 cents on Feb. 1, 2009. A second 25 cent increase in adult fares will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2010, with that increase also applied to fares for seniors and persons with disabilities.

The youth fare remains unchanged at 75 cents.

"Our highest priority is to maintain our current levels of service and keep buses on the streets," said Councilmember Dow Constantine, chair of the council's Transportation Committee and co-sponsor of the fare ordinance.

"This fare increase is not as sharp as originally anticipated, but should allow us to maintain service despite spikes in fuel prices or drops in the revenues that support public transit."

"In talking to citizens about our budget crisis, people have said they value keeping and expanding their existing service, over paying a little more in transit fares, " said Councilmember Larry Phillips, chair of the council's annual budget committee and co-sponsor of the fare ordinance. "Along with efficiencies we found in Metro's budget, this small fare increase will allow us to maintain existing transit service and continue adding promised 'Transit Now' service. We are committed to our work of providing quality, affordable transit service that allows people to get where they need to go especially to and from work without a car.

Fares

Adult Off Peak

Current $1.50

Beginning Feb. 1 2009 $1.75

Beginning Jan. 1 2010 $2.00

Adult One-Zone Peak

Current $1.75

Beginning Feb.1 2009 $2.00

Beginning Jan. 1 2010 $2.25

Adult Two-Zone Peak

Current $2.25

Beginning Feb.1 2009 $2.50

Beginning Jan. 1 2010 $2.75

Access van

Current 75 cents

Beginning Feb.1 2009 $1.00

Beginning Jan. 1 2010 $1.00

Senior/Disabled

Current 50 cents

Beginning Feb.1 2009 50 cents

Beginning Jan. 1 2010 75 cents

The first half of the fare increase is expected to generate $9 million in revenue for Metro over the last 11 months of 2009. Enactment of the adult and senior fare increases in 2010 will generate $13 million a year, for cumulative new annual fare revenues of $22 million a year from 2010 onwards, according to the county.

The council is able to delay the second half of Sim's proposed fare increase by one year by taking a broad look at how Metro delivers bus service. As part of final adoption of the 2009 King County Budget scheduled for next week, the council has identified $43.7 million in cost-savings and efficiencies that will:

Reduce Metro's annual operating expenses by five percent of its roughly $600 million annual budget, or $30.9 million. Much of this saving can be realized by locking in diesel fuel supplies at prices that are much lower now than they were last summer when oil was spiraling out of sight;

Scale back or defer entirely $12.8 million in Metro capital projects, including: Deferring small improvements at Metro bus bases to exterior signage, storage areas, and generators; Delaying the replacement or upgrade of lighting at Park-and-Ride lots where the existing equipment is still working; Canceling non-critical enhancements to the overhead trolley wire network.

The council is also conducting a longer-term performance audit of Metro to focus the agency on its core mission of delivering transit service and to more clearly understand where efficiencies may be found for the 2010-2011 biennium.

Since the voter approval of Initiative 695 in 1999 that repealed the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, the primary source of funding for public transit in Washington state has been the local sales tax, with fares paying for about 25 percent of the cost of bus service.

A sharp spike in diesel fuel prices last summer combined with turmoil in the world financial markets led to an unexpectedly sharp drop of $40 million in local sales tax revenues for Metro Transit for the 2008-2009 biennium, leading to a projected $70 million annual shortfall in Metro's budget announced on August 1. While diesel fuel prices have since subsided, sales tax projections have continued to fall, so that the Metro shortfall now stands at about $90 million per year.