CT proposes 25 cent fare increase

Community Transit has announced a series of public meetings to discuss fare increases and service cuts.

For the third year in a

row, Community Transit

has had to make cuts to its budget because of lower revenues due to the economic recession. The agency cut about $14 million in staff, training and marketing over the past two years that did not impact customers.

For 2010, the agency is proposing a major cut in service, as well as a fare increase for local bus and DART paratransit customers that would take effect in June.

The meeting nearest to Stanwood is at the Marysville Library, 6120 Grove St. in Marysville 6:30-8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 14.

Meetings will also be held in Everett, Edmonds, Monroe and Mountlake Terrace.

A Jan. 19, meeting at the Everett Station Weyerhaeuser Room, 3201 Smith Ave., Everett, 10 a.m.-noon, will focus on impacts to DART paratransit customers.

Nearly all of CT’s 64 local and commuter bus routes will be affected in an effort to eliminate service that is duplicated by other providers, streamline routes and make existing service more efficient.

The agency is also proposing to suspend all service on Sundays and major holidays, including DART paratransit service and Swift bus rapid transit.

By closing its base on these lower ridership days, the agency achieves 47 percent of the proposal’s savings with only 35 percent of total service hours cut, impacting fewer customers.

Combined, these proposed service cuts and suspensions would save the agency $5 million in the second half of 2010 and $11 million in 2011.

The proposal would raise local bus and DART fares by 25 cents for all fare categories: youth, adult and reduced fare (senior/disabled/ Medicare), making CT bus fares comparable to other transit fares in the region.

The proposed fare increase would raise about $250,000 in the second half of 2010 and $500,000 in 2011.

“This is an unavoidable situation and we’ve held off as long as we could, but like most other businesses we’ve been hard hit by the economy and it’s now impacting our customers,” said CT’s CEO, Joyce Eleanor.

“I realize that some people depend on Sunday and holiday transit service, but without this move we would need to propose deeper cuts to service every other day when even more people would be impacted,” Eleanor said.

Details of the proposal are posted online at www. communitytransit.org and on buses.

On Feb. 4, the Community Transit Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on the proposal at its regular monthly meeting, at 3 p.m. in the Community Transit Board Room, 7100 Hardeson Road, Everett.

The board is expected to take action on the proposal on March 4. If approved, the fare increase would go into effect on June 1 and service cuts would start June 13.

For information call Community Transit at (425) 353-RIDE or 800-562-1375 or see www.communitytransit. org.