Bus fare raised to $2 in Madison

[undeterred]

The meeting went into early-morning hours after a public hearing in which dozens of local residents spoke out, many opposed to any increase in bus fares.

The council subsequently voted 11-8 in favor of raising bus fares, which brings the total to $2. Metro bus fares are currently $1.50.

The 50-cent increase is 25 cents more than approved by the city's Transit and Parking Commission in January. The council's vote lines up with Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's proposed increase, which the commission had rejected twice.

The mayor called the TPC's approval of a 25-cent increase the worst of both worlds, because it charges more money while still forcing cuts to service.

"My concern with the TPC is they did not act responsibly," Cieslewicz said. "At first, they refused to raise fares at all. That left them with a $700,000 deficit, which they refused to close." The mayor said the increase in fares is needed to avoid cuts in service.

"I think increasing bus fares is the right thing to do. It's never easy," Cieslewicz said. "We haven't increased cash fares in nine years. Over that time, since 2000, the cost of fuel for our buses has gone up 230 percent."

A small group gathered outside the Common Council meeting on Tuesday night to protest a rate increase.

"A strong Metro is one which is affordable and convenient," said Susan De Vos, a Metro rider.

"Every time you do raise fares, the ridership goes down, and particularly it does hurt youth, (and) it hurts people who use the bus all the time," said Dace Zeps, of Progressive Dane.

Prior to the council's vote, Margaret Bergamini, of the TPC, said she was uneasy with the council possibly overriding the commission's decision. "Apparently, that compromise was not good enough for the mayor and some members of the council, and hence the movement to bring it (to the Common Council)," Bergamini said.

Meanwhile, whether the TPC should make the decision at all didn't seem to sit well with the mayor either. "This magnitude of decision really shouldn't be left to unelected individuals," Cieslewicz said. Bergamini took issue with that position.

"We are in fact selected by the mayor and our appointments are ratified by the Common Council, so it's a little disingenuous for members of the council or the mayor or the mayor's aides to suggest that we don't represent anyone," Bergamini said.

TPC member Amanda White said that if the council does override the commission's decision, it opens the floodgates for reconsidering the decisions of other citizen committees. Zeps said the increase wasn't what most people wanted.

"I think it says a lot about how this mayor views democracy," Zeps said. "Our city has had this participatory democracy and these citizen committees for a long time, and they've worked really well."

http://www.channel3000.com/news/18790945/detail.html


So that's $4 a day to commute round trip, and the bus doesn't go everywhere it should to begin with.