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Akron METRO's Rate Hike Deception
Not more than three months have passed since voters approved a sales tax increase for Akron METRO and there is already talk of a rate increase. A story in the ABJ that was intended to spotlight commuters switching to public transit to get to their jobs in Cleveland included this bit of news as an aside.
METRO's North Coast Express to Cleveland has see an increase in ridership as hapless commuters are giving up the keys to let METRO do the driving. The increase in use for the route that leaves from Ghent Rd has seen ridership up around fifty percent according to METRO sources quoted in the article. That all makes sense considering the impact that four dollar a gallon gas has on long distance commuters. Turning to public transportation is a win for METRO even when the changes in attitude are due to economic duress.
The snippet that caught my attention though was the admission that METRO is considering a 21% rate hike for the North Coast Express weekly rate:
Seems like the administration wasn't being completely honest with county voters or the riders of the Cleveland express line. One of the key threats to service that was dangled before the public was that same rate hike that is going to be implemented anyway (considering means a done deal). It appears as if METRO will use the source of our angst, high gas prices, as a means to ratchet up fares at will regardless of the approved tax increase. They couldn't possibly have been caught off guard by rising fuel prices so that reason seems tenuous at best. Why not raise the rate by $2 with the stated intent to phase in subsequent increases over time? Wouldn't this be a fairer and more even approach to managing the tax dollars that METRO utilizes?
METRO's North Coast Express to Cleveland has see an increase in ridership as hapless commuters are giving up the keys to let METRO do the driving. The increase in use for the route that leaves from Ghent Rd has seen ridership up around fifty percent according to METRO sources quoted in the article. That all makes sense considering the impact that four dollar a gallon gas has on long distance commuters. Turning to public transportation is a win for METRO even when the changes in attitude are due to economic duress.
The snippet that caught my attention though was the admission that METRO is considering a 21% rate hike for the North Coast Express weekly rate:
Gas prices have Metro considering a price increase on the North Coast Express route from $4 to $5 each way. The 10-ride ticket would increase from $33 to $40. Those increases could go into effect in August.We all understand that Akron METRO is feeling the same pain over rising fuel prices, no surprise there. That's why a proposed quarter percent sales tax increase was put before the voters and approved in March. METRO stated in the media, at its public hearings and in it's own printed election material that a fare increase for the Cleveland lines would be required if the tax increase didn't pass. With the passage of the sales tax increase an extra $18 million a year in revenue will be pouring into the bank in 2009. How long did this change in fortune hold off rate increases? By my count that would be four months.
Seems like the administration wasn't being completely honest with county voters or the riders of the Cleveland express line. One of the key threats to service that was dangled before the public was that same rate hike that is going to be implemented anyway (considering means a done deal). It appears as if METRO will use the source of our angst, high gas prices, as a means to ratchet up fares at will regardless of the approved tax increase. They couldn't possibly have been caught off guard by rising fuel prices so that reason seems tenuous at best. Why not raise the rate by $2 with the stated intent to phase in subsequent increases over time? Wouldn't this be a fairer and more even approach to managing the tax dollars that METRO utilizes?
3 comments:
Sorry about that - here's the comment:
Ah, bait and switch - good times.
doesn't it also stand that with increased user fee collections, the price of diesel would be mostly offset?
And don't they lock in fuel prices at Metro?
Seriously, this raises a lot of questions that need answered.
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