METRO's fares rising

[musicman]

To bolster revenue in a time of high fuel costs, Metro says it will trim its bewildering array of discounts, increasing the average fare paid by riders while keeping the base fare unchanged.

"The nominal fare is $1, but because of discounts the average rider actually pays 48 cents and this will rise to 55-60 cents," Metropolitan Transit Authority President and CEO Frank Wilson said Tuesday in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board.

Metro Article

[ricco67]

To bolster revenue in a time of high fuel costs, Metro says it will trim its bewildering array of discounts, increasing the average fare paid by riders while keeping the base fare unchanged.

"The nominal fare is $1, but because of discounts the average rider actually pays 48 cents and this will rise to 55-60 cents," Metropolitan Transit Authority President and CEO Frank Wilson said Tuesday in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board.

Metro Article

I think that is a good compromise considering that metro hasn't increased the fare in quite some time. Considering other cities have had good sized raises, I'm surprised metro hasn't followed suit.

[The Great Hizzy!]

When Shirley DeLibero first became president of METRO and realized what METRO's local fares were (compared to New Jersey Transit and WMATA), the first thing she wanted to do was raise the local fare, but the board at the time thought it to be a really bad move at a time when they were trying to gain support for the building of rail (that and some other reasons, including the fact that at the time METRO had a several million dollar surplus in reserve).

As far as large metropolitan areas go, the local fare for bus and rail in Houston is pretty cheap--probably too cheap, quite franky. I still don't think this is going to go over well with the bulk of riders who use day passes in particular.

Edited September 13, 2006 by The Great Hizzy!

[ricco67]

Exactly.

I thought they can boost it a quarter since the majority of riders probably don't use the discount cards.

[The Great Hizzy!]

I do agree that the array of passes offered is pretty convoluted. There's seemingly a category for everything short of "people who have recently been paroled."

[Montrose1100]

I don't think gas prices should be a noted reason for fare increases. Maybe 2 months ago, but I've seen $2.29 per gallon.

And maybe its my imagination, but I don't remember the last time $20.00 almost gave me half a tank.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

I think it is anti productive to raise fares. In a city where people love thier automobiles, higher fares for public transit will NOT be a good motivator to get people out of thier cars.

[musicman]

Exactly.

I thought they can boost it a quarter since the majority of riders probably don't use the discount cards.

Currently the average rider pays 48 cents.....so the majority get more than a 50 percent discount.

[The Great Hizzy!]

I don't think gas prices should be a noted reason for fare increases. Maybe 2 months ago, but I've seen $2.29 per gallon.

Are you kidding? Even at $2.29 a gallon, that's a near 30% increase in fuel costs from just two years ago. Considering that METRO was already woefully behind other major transit properties in terms of the amount charged for a single direction local route trip, that's debilitating. Your operating costs go even further through the roof.

Also, fare increase have a short term negative on ridership but eventually tapers off because whether people realize this or not, the majority of METRO's users are transit dependent. I don't remember the exact percentage, but indeed it's a sizable majority. I believe it's well over 70%.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

, the majority of METRO's users are transit dependent. I don't remember the exact percentage, but indeed it's a sizable majority. I believe it's well over 70%.

All the more reason to not raise the fares. If these transit dependant people are so able to afford fare increases, they should also be able to afford thier own automobiles. Reading the reasons for the increase in fares reads like funny math to me. A dollar is a dollar. Non of this few cent on the dollar garbage they are selling. In school if you practice funny math, you get a "F". In politics and METRO, you get a promotion and or praises for the very same practices. GARBAGE.

Example: a little old lady i know rides the bus twice a week. Shes poor and doesnt have a lot of extra capitol. She rides to the clinic on Scott street from her home in 3rd ward to recieve her weekly medications. That trip requires her to ride 3 different busses each way. Later on in the week she rides 2 busses to get her weekly groceries from Fiesta Mart. With the new fare rules, this lady will be up garbage creek without a paddle!!! This is one of the same people that will pay rent instead burning the A/C to stay cool, and save money because she doesnt want to be homeless.If this mess goes through, she will now be paying $10 dollars per week for 2 trips that are currently costing her only $4 dollars per week. How the SAM HELL is this a good thing?!?!?!?!?!?!??? That extra $6 dollars may not sound like a lot to the readers here, but it is a fortune to her! Fare increases on the heals of METRO turning a profit---SICKENING!!!!!

[ricco67]

All the more reason to not raise the fares. If these transit dependant people are so able to afford fare increases, they should also be able to afford thier own automobiles. Reading the reasons for the increase in fares reads like funny math to me. A dollar is a dollar. Non of this few cent on the dollar garbage they are selling. In school if you practice funny math, you get a "F". In politics and METRO, you get a promotion and or praises for the very same practices. GARBAGE.

Example: a little old lady i know rides the bus twice a week. Shes poor and doesnt have a lot of extra capitol. She rides to the clinic on Scott street from her home in 3rd ward to recieve her weekly medications. That trip requires her to ride 3 different busses each way. Later on in the week she rides 2 busses to get her weekly groceries from Fiesta Mart. With the new fare rules, this lady will be up garbage creek without a paddle!!! This is one of the same people that will pay rent instead burning the A/C to stay cool, and save money because she doesnt want to be homeless.If this mess goes through, she will now be paying $10 dollars per week for 2 trips that are currently costing her only $4 dollars per week. How the SAM HELL is this a good thing?!?!?!?!?!?!??? That extra $6 dollars may not sound like a lot to the readers here, but it is a fortune to her! Fare increases on the heals of METRO turning a profit---SICKENING!!!!!

Your logic is way off. Sorry. It is by far cheaper to ride metro on a daily basis as opposed to owning a car.

If the little old lady in your example ride 2 bus trips a day. That's a dollar. same thing going to and from the grocery store and various errands.

Even on the low end of a person with a PAID OFF car, with Liability insurance, fuel, and upkeep it would cost in the neighborhood of about $15-20 a day.

Take your liability insurance and fuel costs and divide it by 30 and see what the MINIMUM operating costs of a vehicle. That doesn't include oil changes, fuel filters, or even a car PAYMENT.

One client of mine almost fainted when he realized his cars were costing him $24k a YEAR in upkeep and fuel.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

Take your liability insurance and fuel costs and divide it by 30 and see what the MINIMUM operating costs of a vehicle. That doesn't include oil changes, fuel filters, or even a car PAYMENT.

Im not transit dependant and i am more than capable of paying for fuel and oil changes. My fight is for people that are not able to do those things. This lady is INCAPABLE of paying more for bus fares, PERIOD. Your logic is flawed considering most people are poor and or transit dependant that use the public transportation system. Those are the ones that will be most effected.

Spending some of my free time helping others that are less fortunate and learning about issues that affect the poor first hand has been a very eye opening experience. I have seen things and learned about things that are foreign to me inside the walls of my community which is all the more reason the next statement is so very valid.............

A profitable organization such as METRO, raising fares, when most of its riders are poor and or transit dependant, in light of high profits, is absolutely WRECKLESS!!!!! Posters here seem to support it without batting an eye and i think thats sickening. If the same were to happen to air fares, there would be all hell raised. Keep in mind, most people do not have to fly and are not dependant upon air travel as means of getting on with everyday life.

Its hell to be poor.

[CDeb]

The reasoning behind METRO's low fares is a philosophical decision to be tax-supported rather than fare-supported. Generally most transit agencies make a decision to go one way or the other (although they are all tax-supported at some level). METRO has chosen to be largely tax-supported to keep the fares low.

Now that they are raising farebox revenue, will they drop taxes? Hmmmmmmm.........

A profitable organization such as METRO, raising fares, when most of its riders are poor and or transit dependant, in light of high profits, is absolutely WRECKLESS!!!!! Posters here seem to support it without batting an eye and i think thats sickening. If the same were to happen to air fares, there would be all hell raised. Keep in mind, most people do not have to fly and are not dependant upon air travel as means of getting on with everyday life.

Can't say that I disagree with you.

[IHB2]

The reasoning behind METRO's low fares is a philosophical decision to be tax-supported rather than fare-supported...METRO has chosen to be largely tax-supported to keep the fares low.

Now that they are raising farebox revenue, will they drop taxes?

all true. most of METRO's $$ comes from a % of sales tax revenue. since that's the case wouldn't tax revenue rise at least at the pace of inflation, and more if the local economy is growing (which it has been for the last 4 or 5 years), and negate the need for a fare increase?

[Transit Nut]

For the lady in the example, if it takes her less than 90 minutes to get on the 3rd bus after the time she got on the 1st bus, she would still pay $1 each way (assuming she gets a smart card, which she should if she rides two days every week).

For example,

Trip to Clinic

9:00 Departs house, Boards Bus A, pays $1 with smart card

9:30 Transfers to Bus B, swipes smart card but not charged (transferred with smart card)

10:15 Transfers to Bus C, swipes smart card but not charged (transferred with smart card)

Total: $1

Trip Home

1:00 Departs clinic, Boards Bus C, pays $1 with smart card

1:30 Transfers to Bus B, swipes smart card but not charged (transferred with smart card)

2:00 Transfers to Bus A, swipes smart card but not charged (transferred with smart card)

Total: $1

Trip to Grocery Store

1:00 Departs house, Boards Bus D, pays $1 with smart card

1:30 Transfers to Bus E, swipes smart card but not charged (transferred with smart card)

Total: $1

Trip Home

2:45 Departs store, Boards Bus E, pays $1 with smart card

3:15 Transfers to Bus D, swipes smart card but not charged (transferred with smart card)

Total: $1

Grand Total per week: $4

If she qualifies for senior fare (which she would at age 62), then it costs $0.50 per trip, or a grand total of $2 per week. Also, if she does take 4 trips per week, she would receive 5 free trips after 12.5 weeks (50 paid trips).

Regarding taxes, most, if not all, of METRO's tax revenue comes from sales tax. 1% out of the 8.25% sales tax you pay on things purchased in Houston or other METRO member cities goes to METRO. The other 1% goes to the city and 6.25% goes to the state. In METRO non-member cities (like Sugar Land), 2% goes to the city and 6.25% goes to the state.

Even if tax revenue grows at the rate of inflation, not everything else does. I don't think cost of fuel has, and probably neither has cost of labor.

From FY 1997 to FY 2004 (METRO's fiscal years go from October to September):

-Service hours increased 25.2%

-Boardings increased 9.2%

-Fare revenue increased 3.1%

-Operating expenses increased 19.9%

Since FY 1995 (which began Oct. 94), when the last fare increase happened, the operating ratio (fare ratio divided by various operating costs) has gone from 24.2% to 15.6%. In other words, fare revenue is contributing less to operating expenses than it did 12 years ago.

For more info, see METRO's FY 2006 budget, pdf pages 9-10, at http://www.ridemetro.org/News/publications.asp.

[musicman]

The reasoning behind METRO's low fares is a philosophical decision to be tax-supported rather than fare-supported. Generally most transit agencies make a decision to go one way or the other (although they are all tax-supported at some level). METRO has chosen to be largely tax-supported to keep the fares low.

The last figures i saw (couple of yrs old) revealed that for an average trip, the rider paid $1 while METRO and other funding put in approximately $6 for a total of $7/ride.

[ricco67]

All the more reason to not raise the fares. If these transit dependant people are so able to afford fare increases, they should also be able to afford thier own automobiles.

This is your statement. Therefore, your logic is flawed.

Metro isn't supposed to be a profit oriented venture, no form of infrastructure is. It's a matter of trying to at least tread water to the point where they can, at the very least, be able to reach the surface with a straw!

Perhaps we should simply make all transit free and allow our taxes to increase accordingly, then?

The ones that reap the benifits of using metro are the ones that should be paying at least some form to help defray the costs Regardless as to what income they earn. If they are truly in need, then they can use the Discount cards that are already offered. There are many forms of public transportation that are being given to the poor and disabled that you may, or may not be aware of.

[RedScare]

Transit nut is correct. If the old lady takes advantage of the new system, she'll pay no more than the old system. I applaud 1st Word's sticking up for the poor, but I don't think the new fares will hurt as much as he thinks. A person using a monthly pass ($35) to get to work will pay $39.60 ($2 x 22 days minus 10% volume discount) under the new system. It is likely that few, if any poor people paid for a yearly pass.

None of us likes a price increase, but 12 years in between increases is pretty good. Can we say that about any of our other transportation options?

The new system will probably save me a couple of bucks, since I don't take transit every day. So, a $2 a day fare drops to $1.80, and I don't ride often enough to justify a monthly pass.

Edited September 14, 2006 by RedScare

[The Great Hizzy!]

A profitable organization such as METRO...

Huh?

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

METRO is profitable. Fuel increase or no. The reasoning used to justify an increase "just because" there hasnt been an increase in 12 years is WRECKLESS!!!!

Are people allowed to use a single transfer to and from destinations within a single 3 hour period? Im hearing one thing here and something totally different. Im hearing that it isnt permissable to use a single transfer to go to and from your destination, the drivers will tell you that isnt allowed. Is that a correct statement?

3 hour period at a clinic to get weekly medications. Try going to one of the clinics using the bus with 3 transfers and waiting for your medications. This isnt a private doctor so the service isnt quick to say the least............

When i say this lady is incapable of extra expenses, im not pulling that out of my ass. You try living on a "fixed" income of $625.00 per month. Subtract $300 of that for rent. The other $325 is used to cover utilities, food, and medicine as well as sundries. Even the dullest knife in the drawer can see she operates already in the negative.

My original idea of a fixed income was HIGHLY ARROGANT. It came from my fathers "fixed" income. A retire L-1011 pilot from Delta Airlines. Looking at this womans plight as well as others, i was quickly brought to reality and had the arrogance knocked right the hell out of me. If METRO intends such an arrogant move especially while profitable, i say eliminate that ridiculous % tax. Why the Sam Hell should i pay a tax for a service in which i dont use?

[musicman]

Are people allowed to use a single transfer to and from destinations within a single 3 hour period? Im hearing one thing here and something totally different. Im hearing that it isnt permissable to use a single transfer to go to and from your destination, the drivers will tell you that isnt allowed. Is that a correct statement?

Yes this is correct. you can go for three hrs in any direction as long as it isn't back home on the same numbered bus.

How is METRO profitable? If that was the case there would be no need for sales tax revenue. Like i said earlier today, The average one way trip costs 7, with the rider paying 1 and METRO and other fund sources chipping in 6. This is about 2 yr old data. I don't believe ANY transit agency is making money

Edited September 15, 2006 by musicman

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

Yes this is correct. you can go for three hrs in any direction as long as it isn't back home on the same numbered bus.

Ah, this is the reason she has to get a day pass which requires $2 dollars instead of $1. $2 dollars currently for a day pass which will increase to $3 each way each time she boards a bus for the use of transfers will be eliminated. But my logic is flawed.................

[musicman]

Ah, this is the reason she has to get a day pass which requires $2 dollars instead of $1. $2 dollars currently for a day pass which will increase to $3 each way each time she boards a bus for the use of transfers will be eliminated. But my logic is flawed.................

I believe they are just eliminating discounts so a day pass will still be 2.

[wakester]

I believe they are just eliminating discounts so a day pass will still be 2.

They are getting rid of the day pass. Here is a quote from the Chronicle article :

Wilson and Metro board Chairman David Wolff said they expect complaints about some of the changes, such as elimination of the popular day pass that permits unlimited rides for $2.

[musicman]

oops my bad.

[RedScare]

They are getting rid of the day pass. Here is a quote from the Chronicle article :

Even without the day pass, the lady in the example will likely save 10% on her fares under the new system. Currently, she pays $2 each day she rides. Under the new system, she'll still pay $1 per trip ($2), but she'll receive 5 free trips once she pays for 50, for a 10% (actually 9.1%) discount. Her average cost drops to $1.82.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

Even without the day pass, the lady in the example will likely save 10% on her fares under the new system. Currently, she pays $2 each day she rides. Under the new system, she'll still pay $1 per trip ($2), but she'll receive 5 free trips once she pays for 50, for a 10% (actually 9.1%) discount. Her average cost drops to $1.82.

3 busses in each direct. $1 per bus boarding due to the elimination of transfers and day passes. That does not equal a savings to her.

How are the number of trips supposed to be calculated?

[RedScare]

3 busses in each direct. $1 per bus boarding due to the elimination of transfers and day passes. That does not equal a savings to her.

How are the number of trips supposed to be calculated?

She pays $1 on the first bus. If she uses a SmartPass, the second bus will recognize her first payment, and not charge her. Same for the 3rd bus, as long as she boards the 2nd and 3rd bus within 90 minutes of boarding the first bus. Rather than use a transfer, the SmartPass calculates the transfer. Her net fare for the 3 busses is still $1. Same on the return trip.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

She pays $1 on the first bus. If she uses a SmartPass, the second bus will recognize her first payment, and not charge her. Same for the 3rd bus, as long as she boards the 2nd and 3rd bus within 90 minutes of boarding the first bus. Rather than use a transfer, the SmartPass calculates the transfer. Her net fare for the 3 busses is still $1. Same on the return trip.

And the cost of this smart pass?

[musicman]

And the cost of this smart pass?

all she needs to buy is a pass going to her destination and one going back home. each costs 1. the transfers are included.