Take a hike

No one really wants or likes to see transit fares hike up, but the hikes unveiled in the Washington, D.C. Metro seem quite reasonable to me.  Austin got into trouble when fare hike discussions began because they hadn’t made any changes to fares in quite some time, so the correction seemed fairly drastic to many of those most affected (disabled, seniors, impoverished, etc.).  Washington seems to have done this more prudently, with a ten cent increase that, evidently, will stave off service cuts.  That seems to be the exception, rather than the rule, in transit nationally these days, but I hope it becomes a trend–absorbable increases in fares, rather than service cuts.

Wrong time for fare hikes and service cuts

Capital Metro in my hometown of Austin, Texas, voted in some fare hikes recently (and is poised to approve more soon), and apparently, they’re not alone.  This report confirms that Austin is part of a national trend with really rough timing–more people are riding transit because of the economy, formerly sky-high gas prices, maybe a sense of environmentalism or adventure, etc.  But transit agency budgets are tied to funding streams that are getting hit by the economy (sales taxes, in our case and many others nationally), so fares go up and service declines.

Transportation for America thinks this calls for “a long-term, sustainable source of funding for building, operating and maintaining the entire network.”  I couldn’t say it better.