Surges in Usage, Gas Costs Strain Transit Agencies
By Jennifer Buske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Bus riders in Prince William County might pay higher fares by the end of the year as transportation officials try to accommodate spikes in fuel prices and ridership.
Al Harf, executive director of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, said the commission might increase fares on OmniRide, OmniLink and Metro Direct buses, which serve Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park.
Harf said PRTC needs more funding as fuel prices strain the agency's roughly $27 million operating budget and send more riders its way.
"We are plowing new ground when it comes to ridership numbers," said Harf, adding that the buses are averaging 12,000 trips daily, up 17 percent from February. "I wish I could tell you the increase in ridership is enough to defray the increase in expenses, but it's not. . . . We are definitely staring at a deficit."
Harf said the fare increases are just one piece of a larger transportation plan the commission is scheduled to address today. The plan also calls for the enactment of a long-term policy to guide future fare increases, recommends deferring some "nonessential" items in PRTC's budget and calls on the three localities served by the commission to contribute collectively $535,000, on top of the $10.8 million they collectively contributed this fiscal year, Harf said. The proposed contribution is based on the projection that gas will hover around $4.05 a gallon.
"Given that PRTC needs money, there are two places to get it: the riders and the jurisdictions," said Manassas City Council member Jonathan L. Way (R), who is a PRTC commissioner. "Management is trying to balance that so we all pay our fair share. From the standpoint of the city, we have been accruing extra money in gas tax funds, which will be more than adequate to bear our share of the burden."
Harf said that under the proposal, fares for SmarTrip users on OmniRide would go from $4 to $4.75; on OmniLink, from $1 to $1.10; and on Metro Direct, from $2.10 to $2.40.
It would be the first fare increase since spring 2007, and Harf said PRTC has carefully conceived the numbers. For instance, he said, the increase is slightly larger for OmniRide because the service is used mostly by "white-collar commuters" who have other transportation options. OmniLink, however, is often used by lower-income residents who rely solely on the bus system.
"No one wants to incur higher costs, so I'm sure some riders will be unhappy," Harf said. "But I'm optimistic far more will recognize this is a necessary reality because of the conditions out there that are impacting everyone."
The higher fares would add seven buses to the agency's 119-bus fleet, Harf said.
Prince William Supervisor W.S. Covington III (R-Brentsville), a PRTC commissioner, said he is looking for more data on how much money the extra riders are bringing in before finalizing fare increases.
"I'm a little more supportive of buses moving people into the job market rather than the local ones because they are more efficiently run and more solidly filled every day," Covington said. "But until I see actual data, I don't have a firm position.
The commission is scheduled to vote on the transportation package today. Harf said a vote in favor of the plan would authorize a public hearing process. The group plans to solicit public feedback over the next few months before finalizing any fare increase.
Loudoun County also plans to raise bus fares to add two buses to its 30-bus fleet. The Board of Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday night that will increase the fare for "long-haul" bus service from $6 to $7 for SmarTrip users and the Metro connection service fare from $1.50 to $1.75, said Nancy Gourley, chief of the county's division of transit and commuter services.
"We project the fare increase will cover the fuel increase, increase in services and create a bit of a contingency fund if gas goes up another quarter," she said. "We set it up this way because we don't go back for fare increases very often. This is the first one we've asked for since 2006."
In June, average daily trips for Loudoun buses were 3,623, up 24 percent from June 2007, Gourley said. Fares are set to increase in September.
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