Sunday, August 22, 2010

Comment on Pierce Transit Fare Changes August 30th

On August 30th the public is invited to comment on proposed fare increases for local fixed route bus, SHUTTLE, and Vanpool services that would be implemented in November 1, 2010. In light of Pierce Transit's budget the crisis the Board recently directed staff to find more efficiencies without impacting service. Part of this plan is to increase fare box recovery rates at Pierce Transit, which means increasing fares.

All agencies are being forced to raise fares as part of the solution to the statewide transit funding crisis. For this case at Pierce Transit local cash fares would increase 25 cents, making them $2.00 for most routes and $1.00 for youth and seniors. SHUTTLE cash fares would also increase a quarter. Local monthly passes would increase to $72.00, and a class pass would increase to $48.00. Fares would go from being free on Christmas and Thanksgiving to being the regular fare price.

If you ever ride Pierce Transit be sure to attend the August 30th at 4:30 p.m. at Pierce Transit’s Training Center, Rainier Room, located at 3720 96th Street SW, Lakewood, WA. For more information please visit www.piercetransit.org.

2 comments:

  1. I feel it's fair for Pierce Transit to charge 2.00 for local service, as this is consistent with fares at peer agencies.

    They pulled the Oly Express increase off the proposal, which would have been the only point of opposition from myself.

    There's going to be a vote for a tax increase coming up before long. As I'm assuming TCC will be involved in the campaign (that's what TCC is here for), I sincerely hope they (we?) focus on the needs of the transit-dependent rather than the transit-premium customer.

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  2. We'll indeed be working on the campaign. Feel free to contact me at andrew@transportationchoices.org if you want to get involved.

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