Tough decisions on rates and fees lie ahead for City Council
CITY HALL Those who board the Big Blue Bus may be feeling a little blue themselves after City Council agreed to hike fares for students and eliminate free local transfers in a move that will increase revenues by $1.3 million and keep the bus company solvent.
The local cash fare of 75 cents a ride will remain the same, but students from elementary school through college will have to pay 50 cents — an increase of 25 cents for those in K-12. Interagency transfers will also be bumped to 50 cents, and instead of free local transfers, riders will be encouraged to buy an all-day pass for $2.50. Students, seniors and the disabled will be able to purchase a day pass at a discount — $1.25, according to Stephanie Negriff, director of BBB.
“We took the opportunity to look at ways we could simplify the overall fare structure and provide added conveniences to customers,” Negriff told the council Tuesday, before members voted unanimously in favor of the new fares. “While the proposal includes an increased price for riding for those passengers who use the transfers and also for students, it provides a variety of conveniences.”
Instead of having to stay on a bus for the entire ride, one with a day pass could get off, enjoy a cup of coffee or some lunch, and then hop on the same line without having to pay again as they do now, Negriff said.
The fares will go into effect July 1 of this year. This is the first time fares for students have been raised in the last 16 years.The last regular fare increase occurred in 2002, when the standard fare jumped from 50 cents to 75 cents.
For a comparison, Negriff showed a slide with prices for movie tickets, eggs and other items in 1991 and the price today. In 16 years, the price for a movie jumped from $3.87 to $12.00, a dozen eggs went from 78 cents to $3.59 and a gallon of gas has shot up from 95 cents to $3.25.
Even with that information and a warning from transportation officials about the bus company’s financial woes, some council members still found it difficult to vote for the new fare structure, citing the 50 percent increase for school-age children and the elimination of free transfers, which could take a bite out of some people’s pocket books, especially those living on a fixed income.
BBB officials said they struggled with the decision for two years, and after meeting with residents, made adjustments to best serve all riders. Officials had no Plan B as they are restricted in their restructuring by a funding formula that requires a certain percentage of revenues be generated from the fare box in order to receive federal and state monies.
“I think the day pass will be a wonderful method of helping folks use the system. It’s not as complicated as transfers, and also it allows someone to make a series of stops and not be tied to the very old fashioned transfer system, which probably goes back to the early part of last century … We need to keep our eyes on the horizon so that we can continue to provide better service and keep the quality of service up.” — I’M LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE WHERE WE ARE SEEING RISING GAS FUEL PRICES, WHICH IS FORCING OPERATION COSTS TO GO UP AT THE TRAJECTORY THEY ARE.” Pam O’Connor Santa Monica Councilmember
“I’m reticent to vote for this because of the increase in the student fare … but there seems to be no easy way to do this,” said Councilman Bob Holbrook. “It’s so very hard. We have riders that are very wealthy and those who are poor and everyone in between. We have to hope this works out. If serious problems do arise for some students, we will talk with schools to see what can be done locally.”
Officials with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District could not be reached for comment.
Alison Kendall, the transportation chair at Santa Monica High School and an urban planner, asked the council to not approve the fare increase for students or eliminate the transfers because it would create a burden for some families who are already struggling to make ends meet. Kendall expressed concern that the increased fare will cause more students to drive, creating more traffic and the possibility of more car accidents.
“We don’t want high school kids to be driving to school,”Kendall said.“We do want to encourage them to start to use the bus, just like we want to see middle school age children to use the bus …”
Councilmember Pam O’Connor, vice chair of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that since the school district currently does not offer bus service for students, perhaps it could start contributing to BBB, which could keep fares lower.
“I don’t feel really comfortable about this, but I’m looking into the future where we are seeing rising gas fuel prices, which is forcing operation costs to go up at the trajectory they are,” O’Connor said.
If parents didn’t have BBB, they would have to find some other alternative for transportation, including driving their kids to school and back, something which would cost much more than the all-day fare of $1.25 for students, O’Connor said.
The difficult decision to raise fares is something the council will have to get used to because in the coming months, elected officials will be forced to make even more rate increases to keep enterprise funds such as those for storm and waste water from going into the red, said City Manager Lamont Ewell.
“The big challenge and the biggest concern is that it’s been 16 years since you’ve made adjustments and you will be faced with the same problem [with other enterprise funds] where it has been a decade since adjustments to those rates have been made to bring them back into the black,” Ewell said.
“Enterprise funds are just that,” Ewell added.“They are supposed to be self sustaining.You are supposed to be able to charge fees or rates to keep them going, but you have several funds that are under severe stress. This is just a precursor to that discussion.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 12, 2007. Read the original PDF.