Sound Transit considers raising fares

Sound Transit is considering fare increases this June and next June, to make riders pay a greater share of the cost of express buses.

At the same time, the current five fare zones will be reduced to three, simplifying the system, Sound Transit says. Snohomish, King and Pierce counties would each become a zone — so by June 2011, adult fares would be $2.50 inside a county and $3.50 if the bus crossed a county line.

The steepest increases would typically be between Snohomish and King counties. For instance, adult riders on the popular Everett-Lynnwood-Bellevue corridor (Routes 532 and 535), now a "two-zone" trip that costs $2.50, would pay a $3 "inter-county fare" this June and then $3.50 by mid-2011.

Riders between Pierce County and Seattle already pay $3, and would pay $3.50 by mid-2011.

But riders on Route 545, from Seattle to Redmond, would no longer pay a two-zone fare for crossing Lake Washington. Instead, they would pay the new single-county fare, so under the proposed revisions, their $2.50 fare wouldn't change. Similarly, riders from South King County to Seattle would pay the $2.50 in-county fare.

By comparison, King County Metro Transit charges $2 to $2.75 for adults, depending on time of day and whether the trip crosses Seattle city limits. A 25-cent increase is expected next year.

"In terms of trying to simplify the fare structure, there are some people who are going to be winners, and some people who aren't going to be winners," said Ron Tober, deputy CEO of Sound Transit.

Fares paid by express-bus riders would cover less than 20 percent of 2011 operating costs without the fare hike — but with it, almost 23 percent.

Public transit is mainly subsidized through sales taxes, plus federal grants for buses and stations. The two years of bus-fare increases would add $400,000 a month to the transit agency's budget, according to a Sound Transit staff report.

Sound Transit express buses carry 45,000 riders a day, about a tenth of all regional transit use.

There are no plans to raise fares on Sound Transit's Link light rail this year, according to Tober.

Fares will stay the same to help the new line establish its clientele, then, under the proposal, rise in 2011, he said.

The trains between Westlake Center and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport carry 16,000 riders a day. Today's fare of $2.50 for the 16 miles would increase to $2.75 in June 2011.

The proposals go to a transit-board committee Thursday, followed by a public hearing in April.

Sound Transit is not alone in increasing rider costs. King County Metro Transit increased fares 25 cents a trip this year and last, to help plug budget holes caused by the recession and slumping sales-tax revenue.

Community Transit in Snohomish County is boosting fares 25 cents for in-county routes June 1, while leaving them the same for its commuter lines into King County, which already cost $3.50 from Everett.

The idea of raising transit fares is generally a good one, especially considering that voters in Pierce County might be asked to boost sales taxes for transit this fall, said Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow, who serves on the Sound Transit and Pierce Transit governing boards. He said he's hearing "pushback" from taxpayers who want transit users to pay more.

Under the Sound Transit staff proposal, youth and senior/disabled fares for buses and light rail would also change, in some cases decreasing.

The fare increases would be the first for Sound Transit buses since 2005. Sounder commuter-train fares would not change.

Across the board, Sound Transit is trying to match what neighboring transit agencies charge, Tober said.

Doing so would make it simpler to use the new ORCA smart card, which covers fares and transfers among seven local transit agencies.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published March 17, 2010, was corrected April 2, 2010. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the price of bus fare between Snohomish County and Bellevue.