gears/title> <div align="center"> <h2>Council gears up for bus fare battle</h2> <h4>Wisconsin State Journal, November 8, 2008<br> DEAN MOSIMAN</h4> <p> <table width=600> <td> Metro Transit has come to a fork in its financial road — with tough choices for the City Council this coming week. <p> To cover rising costs and improve service, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is proposing a 50 cent per ride increase to $2 — a 33 percent increase — for basic cash fares, plus corresponding increases for other fares. <p> If the fare increase is approved, Metro would tie Milwaukee and Waukesha for the highest cash fares in the state and be higher than any similar transit system in the nation, according to a recent state audit. <p> It is expected to diminish ridership, slowing the 6 percent annual ridership increases of recent years to 1 percent, at least initially, Metro officials said. <p> "That's too expensive to ride the bus," said frequent rider Keisha Williams while waiting at the South Transfer Point. "Some of us have to catch a bus a lot. It's ridiculous." <p> Ald. Brian Solomon, 12th District, calling Metro "a basic service," is proposing an alternative that nixes the fare increase, cuts some of the mayor's proposed spending on the system, and asks taxpayers for an extra $240,000. <p> Cieslewicz said he's already seeking $410,000 more from taxpayers in his transit budget and opposes Solomon's proposal to add another $240,000. <p> Forgoing a fare increase without more property tax support would mean "significant" service cuts, Metro General Manager Chuck Kamp said. <p> The proposed fare increase is the most controversial piece of the mayor's proposed $237.9 million budget for 2009. <p> The council will decide the operating budget in a series of meetings that starts Tuesday. <h4>Another layer</h4> There's another layer to Metro's budget process that's creating tension between the mayor's office and city Transit and Parking Commission, which has final say on fares and service levels within the budget set by the council. <p> The mayor wants the TPC to follow the council's guidance on fares and service that will be outlined in the budget and is threatening to not reappoint commission members who don't. <p> Nonetheless, commission chairman Carl Durocher said, "I do get the sense there's a great reluctance to go ahead with any fare increase." <p> The commission has set a public hearing for Nov. 24. Metro's budget is tight for many reasons. <p> Because of heavy usage generated by UW-Madison and state government, Metro delivers far more service per capita than any similar system in the nation, a September audit by the state Department of Transportation says. <p> But unlike all the peer transit systems, Metro, like other systems in Wisconsin, has no authority to impose taxes for revenue and must rely on fares and an allowance of city property tax to pay for its high level of service. <p> Metro, which has a $48.8 million budget for 2008, currently gets: <ul> <li>$29.2 million from the state, federal, Dane County and other local governments.</li> <li>$9.7 million from city taxpayers.</li> <li>$9.1 million from fares and various ticket programs, including $1.3 million from cash fares.</li> </ul> <h4>Easing the bite</h4> In his budget request, Kamp sought a 25 cent cash fare increase to generate about $400,000 and $800,000 more in property taxes to continue existing service, add security at transfer stations, and cover soaring fuel prices. <p> But fuel prices eased and Cieslewicz took a different approach, placing more burden on riders with a 50 cent increase to generate $715,000 and easing the bite on taxpayers, seeking only $410,000 more. <p> The revenue, Cieslewicz said, will let Metro add service, double funds for a program that now helps 850 low-income riders each month, add security at transfer stations, increase marketing and build a cash reserve. <p> The cash fare increase would be the first since 2000, and first fare increase of any kind since 2005, and roughly covers inflation since the turn of the decade, the mayor said. <p> In the meantime, the burden on taxpayers, called the levy, has risen 70 percent since he took office in 2003, Cieslewicz said. <p> "I think we've gone as far as is practical on the levy," he said. Solomon and others fear a fare increase will hurt ridership, undermine employment opportunities and have a disproportionate effect on low-income people As an alternative, Solomon and Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway are pushing a budget amendment that: <ul> <li>Drops the fare increase.</li> <li>Adds service and most of the new security for transfer points and marketing money.</li> <li>Cuts new money for low-income riders and the reserve.</li> <li>Gets revenue from fuel savings, clean air action days, and $240,000 more from the property tax.</li> </ul> <q>There is an appropriate mix of fare revenue, local tax support and state and federal revenues,</q> Kamp said. <q>The challenge is finding the right mix and balance.</q> <br> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <p> In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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