Fare increases/Services cuts * USA - Bus riders see inequities in proposed one
* Washington,DC - "Service reductions and fare increases are virtually inevitable"
Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Post, by Ann Scott Tyson -March 29, 2010: -- Metro's proposal to raise fares would disproportionately affect commuters who depend on bus transportation and are least able to pay, according to outraged bus riders whose complaints are backed by Metro data... Rail passengers, who face a 15 percent increase in fares, have a median income of $102,000; 75 percent are white, 18 percent are unemployed, and one in 50 lives in a household without a car... Bus riders face a 20 percent rise in fares. They have a median annual income of $69,000; 50 percent are minorities, 23 percent are unemployed, and one in five has no car in the household, according to a Metrobus rider profile from 2007, the latest such data available... Jim Hughes, Metro's director of strategic planning, said , given the agency's financial woes. Ridership has dropped, and fuel and labor costs continue to rise, he said... Hamre, Metro's acting director of bus planning, said that to identify the bus routes for cuts, analysts rank each one according to several factors, including ridership, how much each trip is subsidized, and measures of revenue per passenger and per mile. The agency also tries to reduce overlaps in service and at times will accept greater crowding or buses that run less frequently on higher-performing routes, he said... (Photo by Mark Gail/the Washington Post: Crystal Washington talks with her son on the last of the three buses she takes from work in the District to home in Temple Hills)* Maryland - Fairfax riders say they feel stranded by plan to cut bus lines
Fairfax,VA,USA -The Washington Post, by Nicole Norfleet -March 29, 2010: -- Fairfax County has proposed eliminating seven bus routes along with Sunday service, reducing the number of late-night trips and increasing fares... Some fellow passengers were shocked: Bus service had already been reduced last year by almost 40 percent... To get to work in the District, Reston commuters can ride the bus to the West Falls Church Metro station; join the tens of thousands of drivers on the road; or jockey for a spot at one of four park-and-ride lots, three of which are filled to capacity, and then take a bus to a Metro station... Behind the proposed bus route cuts is the loss of a $6.7 million grant funded by Dulles Toll Road revenue. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, or VDRPT, used to provide the grant before the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority received control of the Dulles Toll Road and its revenue in November 2008. Plans have been in the works for years for the revenue to be diverted to the Dulles Metrorail project. The county, which in the past would match the state grant, has a projected shortfall of $257.2 million for fiscal 2011... (Photo by Tracy A Woodward/The Washington Post: As a bus takes them to the West Falls Church Metro station, Deloris Bailey, left, talks about her petition to save routes with fellow commuter Lina Patino)* New York - Transit service cuts target buses
New York,NY,USA -The Journal News/LoHud, by Ken Valenti -March 29, 2010: -- The economy, perhaps recovering but still bruising, has claimed many victims, and one of them may be your bus line... The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's service cuts approved last week included dozens of bus routes in New York City. And Westchester County is considering eliminating or shortening several routes... They're not alone. And no one likes it... Kate Slevin, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said hundreds of transit agencies across the country have made cuts as money has dried up in the poor economy... (Image from media.ny1.com: Shuttle Bus Queens,NY)Labels: bus fares increases, services cuts
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