DART Fare Hearing

(Des Moines, IA, March 18, 2008) People attending a public hearing for a proposed transit fare increase were very clear. Support for a fare increase cannot be separated from the service provided or from who is paying the fare.

Fewer than 20 people attended the noontime hearing held at the Central Library. About half of those people were staff of the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority or DART commissioners. DART General Manager said that about 32 people had already submitted comments on the proposed fare increase. Half of those comments were in support, half were in opposition. However, most of the complaints were targeted to specific parts of the proposal.

Miller delivered a slide presentation that had previously been given to the DART commission. He clarified several components of the proposed fare increase included in the letter and attachment sent to riders via e-mail and distributed on buses. One proposed change is that the reduced fare for seniors be offered to be people 65 years or older. Currently, people age 60 can pay the reduced fare. Seniors between age 60 and 65 who currently pay the reduced fare would be grandfathered in and not be required to pay full fare. Federal law requires senior citizens be allowed to ride during off-peak hours at half price. The new fare proposal would allow seniors also to ride at half price during peak hours (i.e., morning and afternoon commute times).

The discount fare for youth age 6 to 10 years would stay at $0.75 while the fare for seniors and disabled riders would increase from $0.50 to $0.75. This would make all discount fares the same. Similarly, the monthly express plus pass would stay at $50.00 but those areas paying less would see an increase to the $50.00 level.

DART staff would like to see more riders use the weekly pass instead of tokens. According to Miller, tokens from pizza parlors are getting dropped into fare boxes. Approximately 4.1% of riders use tokens and 4.4% use weekly passes. Monthly passes are used by 22.5% of riders and 21.9% of rides are given under the Unlimited Access program.

How good a deal is the $50 pass? Consider some calculations for a rider working full-time. For ease of comparison, the monthly commute will be considered to be 2 rides per day, 5 days per week, 4 weeks per month. This equals 40 rides per month. Single fare cost would be $60. Weekly pass fare cost would be $56. Monthly pass fare cost would be $42. On call service would be $120. Combine the monthly pass with the on call transfer cost and it would be $110 per month to take the bus to work. With an all-encompassing express plus pass, that cost would be only $50.

Nobody questioned the reason given for the proposed fare increase, i.e., increasing fuel costs. I sent an e-mail to DART Chief Development Officer Brian Litchfield for usuage details. He said the proposed fare increase would bring in an expected $150,000 annually. In contrast, DART uses about 785,000 gallons of diesel each year. With a current price of between $3.16 and $3.40 per gallon, DART has seen its fuel costs rise by $800,000 per year.

Even though the proposed fare increase is related to rising fuel costs, comments from people attending the fare hearing made it clear there are other concerns. These include the perception that an empty bus equals a poorly-designed route, the time wasted when a route zigs zags in different directions, and the assumption of who rides the bus. One attendee who works for a large downtown company and has her ride paid for under the Unlimited Access program said, “I’m concerned about the poor schmucks” who have to pay $7 more for a monthly pass.

In response to a question I asked about future fare increases or excess revenues should fuel costs stabilize, Miller said that there would not be another fare increase before July 2009. He also acknowledged that future service expansion could be limited by the rising fuel costs.

M.R. Field covers local news for AroundDesMoines.com.