Facing a $14.9 million shortfall, AC Transit’s board of directors voted 5-0-1 last week to adopt a series of fare increases over the next ten years.
Board President Elsa Ortiz, said, “We cannot expect to continue to have low fares without having some impact on service. For that reason I am voting for it.”
A small increase will go into effect August 1, raising the basic adult fare by 10¢ to $2.10, and youth, senior and disabled fares by 5¢ to $1.05. The monthly passes for basic adults will remain $80, the fare for senior and disabled persons will remain $20, and the youth pass will remain $15 (available only with Clipper card).
Over the next decade, fare increases every two or three years will continue raising fares 25¢ every five years.
AC Transit Interim General Manager Mary King said the bus agency didn’t have much choice except to implement the new policy of regularly raising fares “given the volatility of current funding sources… We have to consider fare increases, and the new fare structure will result in at least one source of predictable revenue for AC Transit.”
The first fare increase in August is expected to boost AC Transit’s annual revenue by $2.4 million, which roughly equates to 29,000 more hours of bus service.
How will this affect fares over time?
| Cash Fare | Current | Proposed Year 1FY 2011-12* | No ChangeYear 2 | Proposed Year 3 FY 2013-14* | No Change Years 4 & 5 |
Proposed Year 6 FY 2016-17* | No Change Year 7 | Proposed Year 8 FY 2018-19* |
| Local Adult | $2.00 | $2.10 | $2.25 | $2.35 | $2.50 | |||
| Local Youth | $1.00 | $1.05 | $1.10 | $1.15 | $1.25 | |||
| Local Senior/Disabled | $1.00 | $1.05 | $1.10 | $1.15 | $1.25 | |||
| Transbay Adult | $4.00 | $4.20 | $4.50 | $4.70 | $5.00 | |||
| Transbay Youth | $2.00 | $2.10 | $2.20 | $2.30 | $2.50 | |||
| Transbay Senior/Disabled | $2.00 | $2.10 | $2.20 | $2.30 | $2.50 |
The cost of monthly passes will increase over time, too.
| 31-Day Monthly Pass | Current | Proposed Year 1 FY 2011-12* | No Change Year 2 | Proposed Year 3 FY 2013-14 | No Change Years 4 & 5 | Proposed Year 6 FY 2016-17* | No Change Year 7 | Proposed Year 8 FY 2018-19* |
| Local Adult | $80.00 | $80.00 | $81.00 | $84.60 | $90.00 | |||
| Local Youth | $15.00 | $20.00 | $26.50 | $34.50 | $45.00 | |||
| Local Senior/Disabled | $20.00 | $20.00 | $26.50 | $34.50 | $45.00 | |||
| Transbay Adult | $132.50 | $151.20 | $162.00 | $169.20 | $180.00 |
The Board also approved a new 7-day pass—available only on the Clipper card. The pass will be priced at 10 times the relevant cash fare and is good for unlimited travel for seven consecutive days.
