In many ways, this is a golden age for the long-troubled Metropolitan Transportation Authority, with new rail lines in the works and growing ridership on both its trains and its expanding network of fast buses.
But although MTA officials managed to avoid fare hikes and service cuts in the budget proposal unveiled Monday, they called for the agency to dig deeply into its reserve fund, bringing it to an all-time low because of a $131-million shortfall.
Some MTA directors expressed concern that the deficit would make fare hikes and service cuts inevitable.
"I think what we are doing isn't sustainable into another year," said John Fasana, a Duarte City Council member, during a budget workshop.
Another director, attorney David Fleming, urged the staff to look for more administrative cuts.
"Politically and morally -- because we're talking about raising fares someday for people who can barely make ends meet now -- we have to make sure that we have cut everywhere we can," he said.
The budget discussion came one week after dozens of members of the Bus Riders Union packed a transit meeting, demanding that fares and service be spared in this year's budget process.
Speakers asked Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who leads the MTA, to pledge not to raise rates or cut services in the next four years.
Villaraigosa declined to do so, saying that such a lengthy commitment "is asking a lot." But he said he would "do everything possible to avoid a fare increase."
Passenger fares and advertising will make up about 10% of the proposed $3-billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. More than 63% of the MTA's revenue comes from sales taxes.
Ridership is expected to rise 6%, MTA officials said, generating an additional $15 million in fare revenue.
MTA's newest service, the 14-mile Orange Line from North Hollywood to Warner Center in the western San Fernando Valley, opened in October and quickly surpassed ridership expectations. More than 18,000 people use the bus line on weekdays, triple MTA's initial projections.
Still, MTA staff predict that fare collections will account for less than a quarter of the cost of running the massive public transportation system.
The MTA's reserves will drop to $66 million by the end of the next fiscal year, if current estimates hold. Those savings already have been dramatically whittled down from $427 million in fiscal 2005.
