RMTD might temper bus-fare hike

By Thomas V. Bona

BusinessRockford.com

The Rockford Mass Transit District, like the other government bodies that supply 85 percent of its funding, is facing a budget crunch.

To compensate, it will raise bus fares for the first time in more than a decade. And RMTD officials are considering additional fees as well as the continuation of all of its routes, particularly the one to the CherryVale Mall area.

The original fare-hike proposal was to raise the base adult fare from $1 to $1.50 this spring.

But officials now are considering an incremental increase, to $1.25 this spring and $1.50 sometime next year. The 30-day pass could increase from $35 to around $50 instead of the $63 originally proposed.

The idea is expected to be voted on next month. Any fare increase wouldn’t go into effect until May, not in April as originally planned.

In general, few people at a series of public meetings this month opposed the fare increases, but were concerned how they were implemented, Executive Director Rick McVinnie said.

“This is a really bad time for a fare increase given the unemployment rate is so high and the economy being in the condition it’s in,” he said. “They understand that we’ve held fares low for a number of years. ... We’re hoping to create the fares that are palatable (to) our riders where we won’t lose as many.”

If passed, it would be the first fare hike in 13 years. In that time, costs for fuel, insurance and maintenance have skyrocketed.

Diesel prices averaged $1.24 a gallon in 1996 but rose to $3.80 a gallon in 2008, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

They average $2.25 a gallon today in the Rockford metro area, according to AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com.

But RMTD officials are worried about scaring off too many riders, particularly low-income residents who need the service the most. Ridership was up 15 percent in 2008, with 1.79 million riders, the highest level in more than a decade.

A 25-cent fare increase would cause ridership to drop almost 11 percent, while a 50-cent fare increase would cause ridership to drop 21.5 percent, RMTD studies say. And while the full 50-cent increase would boost revenue by $58,000, officials think an incremental increase could yield more fares long term.

But fares would still only provide less than 15 percent of RMTD’s operating budget. The rest is from other government bodies, which also are cash-strapped.

And the district might need subsidies from Rockford and Cherry Valley to continue its route to the CherryVale Mall area. The grant that helps fund that route ends this year and a proposed 25-cent fare surcharge for that route won’t cover the difference.

RMTD officials also are debating whether to add a 25-cent transfer fee. The main reason is to prevent riders from using transfers for round-trip travel, McVinnie said.

Staff writer Thomas V. Bona may be contacted at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.

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