Friday, June 11, 2004
San Jose transit fares increased, new tax sought
San Jose's transit agency, which is funded out of sales taxes, has increased transit fares by 25 cents and monthly passes by as much as 50 percent. Moreover, the agency says it may have to ask voters for another half-cent sales tax to keep operating its expensive rail lines.
Transit ridership has declined by 35 percent in the last four years, and the fare increase will depress ridership even further. The agency's problems are largely due to the huge debt it took on to build light rail. When the economy tanked, it couldn't keep paying interest on the bonds and run a transit system at the same time, so it cut transit operations. This led to lower ridership and further cuts in a downward spiral.
This article is in the San Jose Mercury-News, which requires free registration. Because it was published June 5, it may disappear from the paper's free portion of the web site soon. If you need a copy and can't find it through this link, email me at rot@ti.org.
Transit ridership has declined by 35 percent in the last four years, and the fare increase will depress ridership even further. The agency's problems are largely due to the huge debt it took on to build light rail. When the economy tanked, it couldn't keep paying interest on the bonds and run a transit system at the same time, so it cut transit operations. This led to lower ridership and further cuts in a downward spiral.
This article is in the San Jose Mercury-News, which requires free registration. Because it was published June 5, it may disappear from the paper's free portion of the web site soon. If you need a copy and can't find it through this link, email me at rot@ti.org.
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