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Golden Gate Bridge may charge for carpools
San Francisco Chronicle
The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District will consider charging $3 for three-person carpools that travel south across the bridge between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m...The new fees will help ease the $132 million deficit the district faces over the next five years. Carpool tolls were already proposed in a list of 33 actions the district should take to balance its budget.
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Transit advocates discuss financial crisis
OC Register
Dozens of transit advocates and leaders gathered at Chapman University today to discuss and seek solutions to a statewide financial crisis facing public transportation. "Despite what many people believe, Orange County has a significant transit dependent population," said Will Kempton, Chief Executive Officer of the Orange County Transportation Authority..."In Orange County, the state's decision not to fund transit means a loss of more than $100 million over the next five years," Kempton said..."If state transit funding isn't secure, our passengers face the very real probability of having nearly 30 percent less bus service by the end of the year," Kempton said.
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Solving SFMTA’s solvency crisis
San Francisco Chronicle
As the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency grapples with a $16.9 million midyear shortfall, policy experts say new revenue measures are needed to help it become financially stable. That deficit, which must be made up by June 30, is a sliver of the agency’s larger problems — it faces a $199 million shortfall for the upcoming two fiscal years. The SFMTA has an operating budget of $808.6 million this fiscal year. SFMTA lost $230 million from state and local sources during the past two years because of the recession.
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Big Blue Bus cash fare could go up to $1.25
Green LA Girl
Big Blue Bus riders: Expect a new fare system come July 1. Depending on whether you’re an avid rider or occasional rider, what you pay the Big Blue Bus per ride could change pretty drastically. Why are the fares going up? If you’ve been paying attention to Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed state budget, you already know that the governator want to take $1 billion away from public transit while making gas cheaper for drivers. That, combined with lower revenues from state taxes due to the economic downturn, means that the Big Blue Bus has a projected operating deficit of $1.7 to $16.8 million over the next three years.
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Fares increasing Monday on SamTrans buses
Oakland Tribune
People who rely on buses for transportation in San Mateo County will soon have to begin paying a bit more. Under increases approved in September by the San Mateo County Transit District board, one-way fares will go up 25 cents to $2 on SamTrans buses. The fare charged on the remaining express line the district operates will climb 50 cents to $5. Youth fares will also jump a quarter to $1.25, while prices for seniors, the disabled and Medicare cardholders will increase by 25 cents to $1. It's the second time in a year SamTrans has hiked its fees. The higher fares come as the transit district struggles with a $28.4 million budget deficit. SamTrans has also reduced it service schedule by 7.5 percent and has made some administrative cuts, including layoffs.
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Muni decried for proposed cuts, increases
San Francisco Chronicle
There was a downpour of dismay and dissent when the directors of the Municipal Transportation Agency met Friday to discuss the combination of fare and fee increases and service cuts planned to close the $16.9 million gap in the current-year budget. Dozens of speakers - many of them disabled or senior citizens - paraded to the podium denouncing the agency staff's proposals, especially the plan to raise the price of a senior or disabled FastPass to $30 from $15. It is already scheduled to rise to $20 in May. Speakers told the directors that the increase would harm those on tight budgets.
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The Wheels Come Off:
In the middle of a financial crisis,
Sacramento Regional Transit braces for yet more cuts
Sacramento News and Review
Sacramento Regional Transit has had a rough year. The agency imposed two fare increases, cut deeply into local bus service and lost tens of millions of dollars in state aid. It’s about to get worse. Earlier this month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed permanently shifting gas tax revenue from dedicated public transportation accounts into the general fund. The move would “put the final nail in the coffin” for public transportation funding, says RT general manager Mike Wiley.
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