RTD Riders Call Proposed Rate Hike 'Unaffordable'
DENVER (CBS4) - Some Regional Transportation District riders are protesting proposed rate hikes for bus and light rail passengers.
RTD says it wants to streamline fares system wide, and some passengers say they'll pay the price for it.
The 15 percent rate hike means fares would go from $2.25 to $2.60. A new multiple-trip day pass would cost $5.20.
RTD has held 16 public meetings about the very issue, and Wednesday night it's holding the last of the meetings before the board makes a decision.
RTD says the rate hike is necessary, but some riders say for regular users it's unaffordable. For coworkers Jennine Jeffries and Dana Nobles, a rate hike from RTD is out of the question.
"To be quite honest I think it's going to directly contribute to more unemployment," Jeffries said.
"It's public service that needs to be provided to the community," Noble said.
The two women are part of 9to5, a low-income advocacy group against RTD's new proposal. Not only will the local fair go up to $2.60, the hike would increase monthly passes from $79 up to $104.
"Times that by two for two adults, and then I have two 7-year-old twins, and then their daily rate, I would not go anywhere," Jeffries said.
"We re-evaluate our fares every few years," Tina Jaquez with RTD said.
Jaquez says the hikes are part of a two-year study that went along with the light rail's massive expansion.
"As our system grows we have to see what will support the system," Jaquez said.
Next year five new light rail lines are planned to open, along with a commuter train to Denver International Airport. Along with that expansion, RTD says they need to find an easier and more uniform cost effective fare structure.
"We do have a low income pass program," Jaquez said.
"What they have right now is actually run through nonprofits," Noble said.
9to5 hopes that if fares must be raised to cover costs, that board members consider low-income families, who according to the Colorado Fiscal Institute, make up half of all RTD riders.
"We need an income-based bus pass, we need accessibility," Noble said.
RTD has already thought of using smart cards, which with advanced purchase,
would come with a discount of 25 cents.
After Wednesday night's meeting the board will make a decision likely in May. New rates would go into effect early next year.
Wednesdays' Denver meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the RTD Administrative Offices located at 1600 Blake Street, Rooms T & D. The Littleton meeting is at Ken Caryl Ranch Metro District, 7676 S. Continental Divide Road, Ranch House, Littleton.
LINK: 9to5
