Los Angeles County transit leaders Thursday approved the first across-the-board fare increase in more than a decade, despite emotional testimony from hundreds of bus riders who said they could not afford steep price hikes.
The new fares -- which apply to both bus and rail service -- are less than the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's staff had sought but will still increase the amount riders pay significantly over the next two years. The cost of the monthly pass will gradually rise from $52 to $75 by July 1, 2009. The popular day pass will rise from $3 to $6 over the same period.
The decision by the MTA's Board of Directors marks a stinging defeat for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who had tried to broker a compromise that would have raised most fares only 5% a year. But the board roundly rejected the mayor's proposal, saying it would leave the agency with a deep operating deficit and would delay future rail projects.
"When you look at so many of them who make the minimum wage, who make less than the poverty level, clearly they are not going to be able to afford it," Villaraigosa said afterward.
The 9-4 vote marks a pivotal moment for mass transit in Los Angeles. The MTA had been unable to significantly raise fares for the last decade because of a federal consent decree established after bus riders and civil rights groups sued the agency in a bid to improve bus service.
Even without the added revenues, the agency has pushed forward with an ambitious rail expansion, including the Gold Line that runs from downtown L.A. to Pasadena and two new routes now under construction, one to East L.A., the other to Culver City.
The MTA found itself with a projected $1.8-billion deficit over the next decade, and CEO Roger Snoble said the agency was faced with the choice of raising fares or cutting service. "We are at a crossroads," he said. "We have a great system. We just can't pay for it."
The fares approved Thursday, along with other cost savings, could eliminate the deficit in eight years, he said.
The MTA's original proposal called for the daily cash fare to rise to $2 per ride from $1.25 and the monthly pass to $120 from $52 over the next two years.
But the 13-member board -- which includes the mayor, all five county supervisors and other officials -- quickly agreed that the proposal was draconian. The majority also agreed, however, that the mayor's plan was unworkable because it would not raise enough revenue and called for more borrowing to buy buses. The mayor's proposal was rejected on an 8-5 vote.
