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Home My WebLink About1993-05-10 93-254 ORDERCouncil Action 93-254 Date 5-10-93 Item No.� Oimmt atttb izing toe aty Mane par W Implement Rrrfse3 ass Item/Subject: pale Rates #IDtitustitiwMl9p goes Responsible Department: Commentary: Acing tie pest twoWtly t preparafforl pioreeaes, tM issue of itcxassing tws faxes to, help offset operatimial ousts hes beat diacvseai aryl xerIosol Fox a v Iaerf Of neasore, the Ccurc11 has sk'cidal rut to pxvvide £e fare ircmasea. Mptfn rods year, staff Me xavmaekd revising tle existug rate artaLrles. TheattacF i Ord ec would imxasse fie interisland bus £am food the cvavtt $.60 to $.75. also, the discount ticlret p=ica for five ticlrets would inexasse fxaa $2.50 W $3.00. mprfa world be tte first irsxasse since 1987 whet[ toe fere save iacxawed ftva $•50 W $.60, arel it Ise that tie ret ircxeaee aoufc[ gaexeW ay3¢m.Luxtc1y $24,400 fn loser reeease. If appx , it is that tM1eee ran•rabas lsLsae effective Suly 1, 1993. TT mmicipel rro1et;.,.1= G tee xevfccerl tl issue at fhesir peening on, April 20, 1993 and unardnrnselY xecaures[kd passage W the sty Council. // N Department NevLp Manager's Comments: /inn, .,.. �,,' �A deca9yuvayy�o� �lvr.w<e,P..la�ax� at city 2 xuV�h Ciry Munster Associated Information: q Oxtler, nMa1M,o Budget Approval: A{�— ' Fine ae Dirt Legal Approval: ,ry Svlicirn Introduced For 1 q Passage Page I of L Fi=at Reading Referral 93-254 MmpedloC naor So cy, M y 10, 1993 r CITY OF BANGOR (TITLE.) Mrber........... ..IartWrieily..tla.city Mamgaz..-W...IDp�tFare By W GVW CoyneR of W MY NBargor: ORDERED, MT W s[mdard fare fort City of Bantpt Bas service be ftcceaeed f= $.60 per trip W $•75 p trip; aM 85 TT F$3.00 Ofiwr 5) tM diecc�n�a] TicJZtt Price be ina ed £mn $2.50 W $3.00 £or fine (5) tickets; and H8 TT F1fl�t 01✓00✓F9, '&NT said ir�eaeee to becvoe effa e JUy 1, 1993. 93-254 IN CITY COUNCIL 0 R 0 E R May 10, 1993 Passed Title, - q.¢�..� n..... sing,..... ry. lfpnp& F. S9. FvmFRP¢^t CITY CLj Revised Bus Face Rates �papto� U Councilman S, MHHORAM011H To: Bob Farrar From: Joe McNeil Re: Fare increase Date: 4/13/93 93-254 During the 1993-94 budget process, some hard decisions were made about the level Of service The Bus could provide with the available funding. To came into compliance with the city managers budget directives, The Bus found it necessary to eliminate the Mt. Have extra route. This run began at 9:45 and ended at 5:30. Having the route allowed us to maintain half hour headways and to expand our service [ea. If the current budget goes Unchanged, the Mt. Hope route would have to revert to hourly service. An alternative consideration to service ice reduction Quid be a fare increase. There has not been a change in Bangor's fare structure for The Bus for More than efx years.. A change could help our operation inseveral ways. currently we are faced with the same level of federal funding as last year. A fare increase would stretch the federal dollar. What is proposed isa cash fare . increase from .60 to .75 cents. we would also increase thecoat of a strip of tickets form 2.50 to 3.00. This would increase revenues and help offset the cost of the second bus. The negative side of a fare increase is it affects the ridership. In many cases, the passenger has a limited amount of money budgeted far transportation. Their only alternative would be to consolidate trips and ride less. Some passengers will evaluate the value of the ride. It would be fair t0 say that some last ridership would be regained over a period of time. (0. On an attachment, The planning division has provided more detailed analysis. Also included is information an ghat other communities are currently charging. I£ any other information is needed, please give me a call. Looking at the alternatives, I think it is the best solution. bus VMS 4240 [20-7] -783-2033 Street.Lewistson,Maine 0 260 Bartlett FAX 777-1398 The Bus 481MaineAvenue Bangor, Maine 04401 Attn: Joe McNeil Dear Joe: As per your request 1 am sending you our present fare structure. Adult Fare $0.80 Student Fare 0.60 Senior Citizen/Handicapped 0.40 Bus Passes 11 rides per pass Adult Fare $➢.50 Student Fare 6.00 Senior Citizen/Handicapped. 4.00 Hope this will help you and if there are any questions 1 can answer, please feel free to call me. Sincerely, C✓ The res S. BamsOR Genera Manager TSS:s March 15, 1993 Mr. Joseph Ncueil The Bus 481 Maine Avenue 0ango[, MH 04401 Dear Joe: The Greater Portland Transit District Board of Directors reluctantly voted to increase fares on Janau[y 1, 1993. This was done only as a lest [ssort after t[bmnln9 the budget and seeking out all other revenue ss. A comparison,of the fare strvetu[e follows: 199] 1993 Pull Pare 906 $ 1.00 Half Pare 45{ 500 Ten Aide Ticket 8.00 ¢ 9.00 Monthly Pass $33.00 t30.00 Me ten -ride ticket is still a bargain over full tach fare and saves the ride[ the inconvenience of having correct fare at all times. cost the ridership duInifactnmonthly pass salealy pass was an jOmped 358 over the previous year's recapture last ear's sales. if you need further information, please don't hesitate to Call. Sine rely 1� John L: Tibbetts Msistant General Manage[ JLT/P1P GIiEATFA PORRANO TMNSR O16]P ICT 1MVaIley Slreet•PO Bm M9]-PunIaM. Maine 6501 �(20]I ]]d-0351 M E M O R A M B 0 n March 11, 1993 TO: Bob Farrar From: Joe McNeil RE: Fare Structure The followinc is a comparison of transit fares with Metro n Portland and Hudson Bus Lines in Lewiston to Bannor's bus fares. BANGOR PARES - Ree. Intovn fare Student 1/2 fare Senior Citizen/Handicapped 1/2 fare Five Ride Bus Ticket METRO FARES Rep. Fares 1/2 Fare Ten Ride Bns Ticket x Unlimited Monthly Bus Pass 5.60 .30 (7-9am/2-4pm) .30 (8:15-10:45am) 2.50 S 1.00 50 9.00 30.00 *Monthly pass was 832.00, dropped price to 530.00,_ this move showed a 25% increase in sale Of monthly Passes. **Last fare increase was effective January 1. 1993. q• MOSon Bus LIKES FARES - 5 ,BO Rea. Fares _ Senior Citizen/Handicapped 40 Student Fares .60 Bus Passes - Rea. 11 ride, 50 students 11 rides 6.00 Senior/Handicapped - 4.00 11 rides 1988 was the last year that Hudson Bus implemented a fare u- MRHORANOOM TO: Bob Farrar From: Joe McNeil Re: Fare Increase Date: 2/19/93 Bob, last year we looked at the possibility of a fare increase on the Bangor bus routes. After much discussion with the finance committee it was defeated. Today we are faced with some of the same problems that we had last year and this might be the proper time to re -visit the idea of a fare increase. I have included a memo from Bob Osborne that addresses some of the same concerns. With the newproposed levels of service, his figures might need to be adjusted. Please let me knew if now would be the proper time to move forward with this. TO: Joe McNeil From: Bob Osborne Date: February 11, 1993 BE: Fare increase for the Bangor routes As you know, the fares for the Bangor routes have not been increased for six or seven years from 60 cents. Overall farebox receipts have been hovering around $235,000 since e FY 1989. However during that same period casts have risen from $517,595 in FY 1989 to $680,698 for FY 1993 ($69],199 in FY 1992). This represents an annual increase of 7.94 over the four year period. if farebox would have kept pace it would w be at about $309,500. Given that your preliminary budget estimate is for over $720,000 for FY 1994 and that federal funds ($242,500) might not be available for half of the operating deficit which logically would total about $485,000 it seems like a very good time to again contemplate a fare increase. Specifically the Bangor routes should move up from the base fare of 60 cents to 75 cents. This alone would net out a avenue increase of about $22,000 or about a 104 boost to total farebox revenues. An increase in farebox revenue would stretch the federal/local dollars considerably. Instead of a $485,000 deficit we would face a $463,000 deficit which would be eligible for $231,500 which is more in line with last funding level indtheaTOTAL Bangor $ apportionment of urbanized a k2- 13- To: Bob Farrar From: Bob Osborne Date: April 15, 1993 RE: Proposed fare increase for The Bus I have conducted a fare elasticity study for the Bangor routes and find the following: 1) Based on the most current twelve month period (4/92 - 3/93) The Bus transported 312,119 passengers and generated $134,218 in farebox revenue. 2) The existing and proposed rates are as follows: Existing Proposed § Increase Cash fare $0.60 $0.25 25.0% Tickets $0.50 $0.60 20.0% Student $0.30 $0.35- 16.0% Seniors $0.30 $0.35 16.0% Greater Bgr Ride $0.50' - $0.25 50.0% Free transfers $0.00 $0.00 0.08 Paid transfers -$0.25 -$0.25 0.0% 3) The basic rule of fare elasticity is that for each 1% 0£ fare increase there will be a 0.38 (plus or minus 0.16%) ridership reduction. Based on past experience this 0.38 assumption has held true albeit we have no recent experience to draw upon. Thus, the following ridership categories will be affected by the rate of fare increase. RIDERSHIP PROJECTION Existing Proposed % Decrease Cash fare 108,873 100,208 2.58 Tickets 61,282 58,025 6.0% Greater Bgr Ride 22,310 61,463 12.5% Student 6,383 6,007 4.8% Seniors 4,225 4,022 4.8% Free Transfers 63,588 63,588 0.0% Paid Transfers 51238 5,238 0.0% Over/Short -41 -38 2.5% TOTAL 317,119 299,132 5.2% RIDERSHIP The total lost ridership is estimated to be 17,987. In past experience, a significant portion of the lost trips are regained over a year or two after afare increase. The following chart indicates how revenues are affected by the combination of the increased fare and the reduced rider base. 14• REVENUE PROJECTION Existing Proposed Cash fare $65,324 $75,531 Tickets 30,891 34,845 Greater Egr Ride 36,155 45,097 Student 1,915 2,127 Seniors 1,268 1,400 Free Transfers 0 0 Paid Transfers -1,310 --1,310 Wer/Short -25 -28 TOTAL $134,218 $158,669 REVENUE Two cautionary notes should be addressed. First it should be pointed out that the amount of lost trips could be more or less (plus or minus .168) than the traditionally accepted .3% per 1.08 fare increase. Based on this the range of anticipated revenue could vary from $149,785 to $167,554. Thus the net increase in farebox .could range from $15,567 to $33,336 with the anticipated amount being $24,451. The other wild card in this situation is the Greater Bangor Ride (GBR) component of ridership. The GBR currently constitutes 22.88 of all Bangor passengers. These riders pay with a federally subsidized voucher that comes in ticket form with a face value of 25 cents for which they pay 12.5 cents and PTA pays 12.5 cents. The fact that the tickets come in 25 cent increments led to The Bus' practice of accepting two tickets (30 cents) for a 60 cent Bangor fare. The proposal here is to increase the GBR fare to 75 cents from the current 50 cents. This proposal on the face Of it seems innocent enough with the GEN rider being asked for an .additional 12.5 cents for a fare. However the GBR program has a limited amount of resources (is facing reduced future funding) and it i impossible to reliably predict the cash stream from this program.