OKs/title> <div align="center"> <h2>Council OKs bus fare increase to $2, overturning TPC decision</h2> <h4>Wisconsin State Journal, February 25, 2009<br> Nick Heynen</h4> <p> <table width=600> <td> After nearly six hours of debate and public testimony, the Madison Common Council voted 11-8 Wednesday morning to increase cash fares for Madison Metro buses from $1.50 to $2, overturning an alternative fare hike recommended by the Transportation and Parking Commission. <p> More than 50 Madison residents spoke both for and against the fare increase at the meeting -- which began at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and ended after 1 a.m. Wednesday -- while dozens more sat or stood in the council room to watch the proceedings. <p> Most were against the proposal, citing a wide range of reasons including environmental concerns, worries about reduced ridership, frustrations about the way the TPC was being overruled and gripes about current service levels and Metro efficiency. <p> Tensions occasionally erupted among some onlookers as the night wore on. At one point, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz had to tell a man to remain quiet after the man pointed at an alder and demanded that he be made to pay attention to the hearing. <p> Metro Transit General Manager Chuck Kamp made the case for the fare increase, stating Metro would need to see an increase of 2 million to 3 million riders to provide the revenue needed in the budget to prevent service cuts. He said Metro ridership was projected by his staff to increase 1 percent in the next year after the fare increase. The bus service had a 6 percent increase in 2008, the second highest increase ever. <p> He was backed by Cieslewicz, who said the increase was necessary to prevent service cuts and increase security at transfer points. <p> "What I'm hoping is this is the last fare increase we have to put into effect," until a proposed multi-county Regional Transit Authority is instituted, which wouldn't likely happen until 2012, he said. <p> Leading the charge against the increase was Ald. Brian Solomon, 10th District, who sits on the TPC. He provided alternate estimates by national transit organizations that projected a higher loss of ridership as a way of demonstrating that the increase was too risky. He warned that if ridership dropped more than expected and Metro didn't find another source of revenue, it would still have to make service cuts. <p> "I can't imagine a worse case scenario than that," he said. <p> In December and January, concerned about losing Metro ridership and the potential effect of the increase on poor riders, the TPC balked at the proposed 50 cent increase included in the city's 2009 budget, and voted it down twice, the second time proposing an alternative 25 cent increase. <p> In a rare move, a citizen, Lisa Subeck, appealed the TPC's change to the fare increase, allowing the council to overturn the TPC's recommendation in Tuesday night's vote. <br> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <p> In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.