Home › Forums › Politics › County Council considering major increase in Metro's senior/disabled pass price
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
October 11, 2010 at 2:30 am #596650
metrognomeParticipantEarlier this year, the King County Council approved raising Metro’s Regional Reduced Fare Permit cash and pass prices effective Jan. 1, 2011 (the RRFP is for seniors and persons with disabilities.) The RRFP cash fare was increased to $1 from 75 cents; the monthly Metro-only pass to $24 from $18 and the annual pass from $99 to $150 (essentially buy 6 months, get 6 months free). However, County Executive Constantine has transmitted an ordinance to Council to “eliminate non-regional passes and modify senior and persons with disabilities transit fares.” Ordinance 2010-4098.2, if approved as amended, would eliminate the Metro-only RRFP monthly and annual passes as well as the Weekend/Holiday All Day Pass, Sunday/Holiday Family Fare, and the Weekday All Day Pass. The reason given for this change is to “further fare simplification and [regional fare] integration”; with this change, “seniors and persons with disabilities will pay a single cash fare or a single pass price to cover all of the bus and light rail transit trips they take in King County regardless of which service they use.”
The ordinance would repeal the earlier changes and the RRFP cash fare would remain at 75 cents. However, with the elimination of the Metro-only RRFP monthly and annual passes, RRFP holders would need to buy the $27 PugetPass (face value of 75 cents.) There would be no annual RRFP pass. Therefore, the cost of buying passes for a year would rise from the current $99 to $324. You do the math.
The County Executive requested that this be considered outside the budget process so that the changes could be approved prior to October 1, the deadline for submitting fare information to the printer for the January 2011 passes (the only reason I was tipped off to this change was a comment after a WSB article and a similar comment on the P-I transpo blog.) The Council was scheduled to approve this on October 4th; a public hearing was held, but no one testified. The public hearing was held open for the Oct 11th meeting; there was no Council discussion and no Metro presentation. Other than the publication of the mandatory hearing notice in the local papers, there appears to have been little or no public process surrounding this change (or the earlier increase, for that matter) and virtually no televised Council discussion. Hopefully, there will be a presentation by Metro staff at the Oct. 11th Council meeting, although this may be a done deal.
For details, see
As a side note, Meto has historically subsidized the RRFP fare well beyond the federal maximum (same fares during peak hours; off-peak fares to be half the average peak hour fare) and well beyond fares charged by other local transit agencies as well as at a national level. With this change, RRFP fares would still be well below the federal requirement.
October 11, 2010 at 3:06 am #705480
KenParticipantI am pretty sure Dow would rather be juggling chainsaws than making the cuts he has to in the county budget. He was pretty upset last year when the school system decided to push most of the former school bus riders onto the metro transferring the cost out of their own budget.
As long as it stays a better deal than the fed requirements, I can see how it is one of many increments in the “spread the pain” budget.
btw I am eligible for RRFP but since I have no commute, and it takes me nearly an hour to walk from the express stop, I use metro rarely and have not used the RRFP.
October 11, 2010 at 3:13 am #705481
JanSParticipantKen,I thank my lucky stars a lot of the time for being able to work at home. It’s the greatest commute ever. And, with frequently more doc appt.s now, I’ve been lucky enough to have friends good enough to provide me with transportation (so far), I really feel for those who will suffer because of increases.
October 11, 2010 at 1:50 pm #705482
anonymeParticipantI do use the RRFP. I’m semi-retired and can’t afford a car. I still work part-time, and rely on the pass to get to work, shop, go to medical appointments, etc. In January 2010 the monthly pass fee (formerly a sticker) was raised from $9 to $18 per month – a 100% increase. Now, the smallest proposed increase will raise that price to $24, nearly triple the cost in just over a year. Even if Metro’s subsidized fares for seniors are below the national – or even regional average, this is still a tremendous blow. Are regular fares rising as well? Why pick on those on fixed incomes and least able to defend themselves?
There will be no COLA increase for the second year in a row. Utility costs are rising at the same astronomical rate as Metro’s. Food costs will soar this winter due to poor crops. Now, senior & disabled people will find it even more difficult to get to an essential medical appointment. Oh, wait – they probably don’t have health insurance, either.
October 11, 2010 at 3:54 pm #705483
JoBParticipantThis is not good…
October 11, 2010 at 10:06 pm #705484
WSBKeymasterJust got a news release about this. Cannot read it in full right now, gotta rush off to check something out but for those of you following this here – this is the news release in its entirety (from KC Council):
>>County Council eliminates 2011 transit fare
increase for seniors
Adopted legislation also approves creation of a senior regional transit pass
The Metropolitan King County Council today adopted legislation canceling the 25-cent fare increase for senior bus riders slated to occur in 2011. The legislation also begins the transition of replacing the Metro senior pass with an ORCA card, providing seniors with the ease of using one card for their public transportation needs throughout the region.
“Freezing senior fares and creating a regional senior pass should make riding the bus easier for seniors,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, chair of the Council’s Environment and Transportation Committee. “This action keeps senior fares affordable and ends the confusion for seniors who use both local and regional transit services. They will now be able to use one pass whether riding on Metro, Sound Transit, Community Transit, or Pierce Transit.”
Senior/disabled ridership represents approximately 9 million of Metro Transit’s 107 million annual trips. In 2009, the Council adopted legislation approving a 25-cent increase in senior fares starting in 2011 to help fill the revenue shortfall in the Metro Transit Budget.
Today’s legislation repeals the fare increase, leaving the cost of a bus ride for seniors and passengers with disabilities at 75 cents. The legislation does increase the cost of a monthly pass from $18 to $27, but that monthly pass can now be used on any transit system in the region as part of the overall regional fare coordination effort. Consistent with other ORCA passes, yearly passes for seniors are also eliminated.
The adopted ordinance advances the Council’s priorities of Mobility for Goods, People and Services, Financial Stewardship and Equity and Social Justice. See the Council’s Priorities Scorecard at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/issues/council_priorities.aspx
<<
October 11, 2010 at 10:14 pm #705485
metrognomeParticipantWOW … the ordinance just passed on an 8 to 1 vote with NO public comments and NO Council discussion. I’m shocked at the way this was handled, with absolutely no public process.
To summarize: Metro’s Regional Reduced Fare Permit cash fare for seniors and persons with disabilities will remain at 75 cents; effective Jan 1, 2011, Metro’s RRFP monthly pass price will be $27. The pass will be good for the base reduced fare on the other Puget Sound transit agencies that participate in the PugetPass program. There will be no annual pass.
It may be worth calling Metro Customer Service in late Nov. to see whether Metro will honor a $99 RRFP annual pass bought in December 2010 through November 2011 without paying for an upgrade.
In addition, all the Metro-only passes mentioned in my first post will go away on Dec. 31, 2010.
October 11, 2010 at 11:20 pm #705486
anonymeParticipantI am absolutely sickened by the slick, glib, self-congratulatory spin put on this so-called “fare freeze” by the City Council. The reality is a THREE HUNDRED PERCENT ++ INCREASE on senior fares in just one year’s time.
October 12, 2010 at 1:33 am #705487
JanSParticipantanonyme…I can promise you, this won’t be affecting those on the council personally…hence, the glib tone…
October 12, 2010 at 6:53 pm #705488
JiggersMemberWhy don’t you thank the people who you voted into office in the past. It is their incompetence that the city is broke( at least they say it is). They’re trying to weed out the poor and old from King County. It is being done. They only want people who make over A $100k a year to live in Seattle.
October 12, 2010 at 10:10 pm #705489
anonymeParticipantJiggers, I agree with you one hundred percent. I would go even further and suggest that the purge you speak of is national, not just local.
BTW, why do we even need a City Council? They seem to function as a taxpayer funded arm of the Chamber of Commerce.
October 13, 2010 at 4:27 am #705490
HMC RichParticipantYou Seniors need to ride your bikes. It will benefit your health. I am surprised Mayor McScwinn hasn’t pushed that. If your reflexes are too slow I guess that ride to harborview emergency will pretty much wipe out your social security check!?
If this city would truly like to help people they would let the senior citizens ride for free within a city and charge them a quarter for going from one city to another. The seniors have given enough to this county. Granted they screwed up mass transit and the highway system by not wanting to expand but oh well. If they have affordable transportation they may just buy a couple more items and help out the economy.
October 13, 2010 at 4:30 am #705491
HMC RichParticipantRoving bands of Senior citizens. How pythonesque.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.