Commission wrestling with Metro fare hike
The members of the city's Transit and Parking Commission find themselves in a dilemma. Most never endorsed the 50-cent Madison Metro bus fare increase that passed the City Council on Nov. 12, but if they vote it down, they'll have to cut bus services to make up the agency's $682,000 deficit, something they really don't want to do.
Part of the process to determine what to do next will include a public hearing Monday to gauge public reaction to raising cash fares to $2 from $1.50. The hearing will come just months after the commission's last public hearing, which brought dozens of bus riders out to protest the impact of reduced routes and less frequent service.
Commission member Margaret Bergamini expressed particular frustration with how quickly the changes are coming after the last round of them. With the service adjustments approved over the summer taking effect in October, the commission has hardly had a chance to assess their impact on ridership, she said.
"It's very frustrating to try to do long-range planning and have to put out fires every nine months," she said. "Aside from the emotional impact, it's hard to do planning when you don't have time to assess changes."
While the City Council heard mostly from formal bus advocates at this year's budget meetings, the Transit and Parking Commission often hears directly from average bus riders, many of whom are transit-dependent, said longtime commission member Kevin Hoag. The meetings are difficult, he said, noting that one member quit before a 2005 meeting on a cash fare increase. "When you go to the public hearings, it hurts to hear these stories," he said.
That being said, Hoag said that in his seven years on the commission, he has seen consistent service cuts to Metro that have never been restored. With the size of this deficit, and the fact that the Council's Metro budget would fund various service improvements to Metro, he said he is "quite confident" the commission's decision will include some form of a fare increase.
Whether the commission approves the exact fare increases recommended by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, however, is up for debate. After Cieslewicz made several comments in recent weeks questioning whether the appointed committee should go against the elected council's wishes, commission members are adamant that a fare increase is their decision.
"This is a utility. It is the only body that has the authority to raise fares," said commission member and Ald. Brian Solomon. "The TPC is under no obligation to follow those policy decisions."
Hoag added in an e-mail to other commission members that he believes the commission serves as a check on the City Council, much like another appointed body -- the Supreme Court -- does for the federal government. He also said many of the commission members have expertise in transit issues that council members may not have.
Still, Solomon said it was incumbent on the commission to take the recommendations from the mayor and City Council seriously.
Amanda White, a member of the Transit and Parking Commission who spoke against a fare increase this year, said the Council's vote was a "big consideration," but added that she would consider all options for dealing with the fare increase. She said she is still concerned about a fare increase's impact on ridership, which the city predicted to drop from a 5.6 percent increase this year to a 1 percent increase next year assuming a 50-cent rise in cash fares.
Several members also said they were interested in Ald. Larry Palm's suggestion at the budget meeting to look for ways to avoid a cash fare increase by raising the price of multiride passes. One point of multi-ride passes is to give frequent riders a discount, however, so that effectively limits the amount they can go up.
Chuck Kamp, general manager for Madison Metro, said he expects a lot of questions from commission members on possible adjustments to fares at the Nov. 24 public hearing and at the Dec. 9 Transit and Parking Commission meeting, where a final decision will likely be made on a fare increase.
For now, commission members are trying to make the best of a difficult situation. Hoag said he wants to find more ways to help low-income riders deal with a potential fare increase, adding that he was heartened by potential improvements to Metro passed by the City Council. Those include restoring some of the service cuts of recent years, adding a new marketing position to sell unlimited ride passes to businesses, and also adding $40,000 for aid to low-income riders and funding for transfer point security.
"I hate to even refer to a 50-cent increase as an opportunity, but this is an opportunity in taking what was the more aggressive fare increase and getting Metro off the edge financially," he said.
Ultimately, Solomon said he hopes to find a compromise that will suit the City Council and the Transit and Parking Commission.
"This is not a fight I'm fighting for the
sake of it," he said. "We lost, and now we have to roll up our
sleeves and get to work."
PUBLIC HEARING
Madison's Transit and Parking Commission will hear public comments Monday, Nov. 24, about proposed far increases for Madison Metro. The hearing starts at 6 p.m. at the Monona Terrace Convention Center.
Mike DeVries/The Capital Times
Madison Transit and Parking Commission members will decide soon whether to approve a 50-cent bus fare increase championed by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, shown above on a hybrid bus with Metro general manager Chuck Kamp in 2007.
