Bus fare increases are being planned in Prince William and Loudoun counties to offset a recent spike in fuel prices and increased ridership.
Soaring gas prices have more people flocking to buses, but the increased business is creating expensive problems, said Alfred Harf, executive director of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, which runs Prince William County’s bus service.
“The increased ridership is necessitating more service,” he said. “We’re tapped out.”
In June, the agency averaged 8,616 daily trips on its commuter line and 4,066 on its local line. The ridership is 7 percent higher than it was a year ago and has increased 17 percent since February, Harf said.
A fare increase — as well as a fare indexing system that would raise fares once every two years — is necessary to offset increasing fuel costs, he said.
The amount of the annual fare increase would depend on the yearly urban wage earners index for Washington and Baltimore, as well as each year’s fuel cost increase, he said.
Under the current proposal, SmarTrip fares would increase from $4 to $4.75 for the commuter line, from $2.10 to $2.40 for the Metro direct line, and from $1 to either $1.10 or $1.25 for the local line, depending on the number of commuters using SmarTrip.
The agency also wants to add 10.5 hours a day to bus service to ease overcrowding, which would increase the budget by $300,000, Harf said. Factoring in fuel costs would put the commission’s plan nearly $1.7 million over its 2009 budget.
“We’re trying to be resourceful with the dollars we already have, but we can’t do it entirely by ourselves,” he said.
Loudoun County also is planning a fare increase.
Transit planning chief Nancy Gourley has submitted a plan to the Board of Supervisors to increase fares and lease two additional buses for one year to combat recent overcrowding.
The cash fare for regular bus service from Loudoun into the District would increase from $7 to $8, and the Metro connector fare would rise from $2 to $2.25.
Average daily ridership on long-haul morning busloads in June was 1,349, up 12.5 percent from an average of 1,199 in March.
Loudoun’s ridership is expected to increase further by 5 to 7 percent in September, as the start of the school year typically shifts commuter habits, Gourley said.
The Prince William County agency budgeted fuel at $3 per gallon for 2009 and $2.85 per gallon for 2010, but the latest projection has fuel averaging at $4.05 a gallon for 2009, Harf said.
County staff will present a version of Harf’s plan to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, and it will be discussed at the PRTC board meeting Thursday.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that the plan as we’re proposing it will be well-received,” he said.
