Fare hike proposed by Port Authority
Change in transfer fees also suggested
A Port Authority consultant spent more that two years looking at the agency’s fare structure, especially at ways to address concerns that low-income, cash riders pay more than others.
But advocates for low-income riders say proposed changes announced Thursday “don’t go far enough” because cash customers can’t take advantage of the changes.
Recommendations call for increasing fares 25 cents to $2.75 for prepaid ConnectCard users who don’t use transfers and replacing transfer fees with a three-hour window during which riders can take as many rides as they want with no extra charge. In addition, the time for using monthly and weekly passes won’t start until the first time they are used rather than the beginning of the month or week.
That won’t help cash riders, who already pay $2.75 plus additional full fares for transfers, until the authority can get more ticket machines and ConnectCard dispensers in low-income neighborhoods, said Laura Wiens, executive director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. Riders who use cash can’t take advantage of free transfers because, since the authority no longer uses paper transfers, there would be no way for an operator to know they already paid for a trip within three hours.
“That’s a big problem,” Ms. Wiens said. “We know that cash customers are being penalized in multiple ways. If they are not addressing that, they are not addressing the inequities at all.”
In addition to low-income riders not having money for a prepaid ConnectCard, Ms. Wiens said, there is a “huge gap” in the availability of stores or Port Authoritymachines selling products in low-income communities.
Ms. Wiens also said it is unfortunate that the authority decided to raise fares for ConnectCard users to the same as cash rather than the other way around.
A trip to work and back for a cash customer who requires a transfer would still cost $11 compared to $5.50 for a ConnectCard user.
The organization has three major points it was looking for with changes to the fare structure: free transfers; fare capping, where those who pay for individual rides stop paying when their fares reach the level of a monthly pass; and wider availability of ConnectCard and ticket machines. This proposal doesn’t fully address any of those areas, Ms. Wiens said.
Authority CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman presented the recommendations Thursday to the board’s finance committee, which recommended the full board approve the start of a public comment period on the proposed changes when it meets next week. That 40-day period, through May 5, will include
several virtual meetings and could include an in-person meeting if COVID-19 restrictions are reduced.
The agency would like to begin using the new fare structure in July, but it could take longer than that to adjust fare boxes. If that’s the case, Ms. Kelleman said, the agency will find another way to provide free transfers until the electronic system is ready.
Ms. Kelleman said she believes the proposed changes address the inequities through the three-hour window for unlimited rides and the rolling start times for passes. The agency also has plans to make ConnectCards and other products more readily available.
The authority said most of its peer agencies across the country already have eliminated transfer fees and have a two- or three-hour window for unlimited rides.
Fare capping is too difficult to do technologically, Ms. Kelleman said, but she believes rolling start times for weekly and monthly passes serve the same purpose.
“We believe we are meeting those goals,” she said. “I think these are improvements.” In normal circumstances without a pandemic, Ms. Kelleman said, the agency might spend another year holding public meetings to get more input and have all elements such as more vendors for authority products in place before it changes its fare policy. Since PPT and others have been very vocal about needed changes, the agency feels comfortable with moving ahead with changes now, she said.
“Riders shouldn’t have to wait until society settles down [from the pandemic],” she said. “Let’s get done what we can do now.”
Ms. Kelleman said she wants to hear whether the proposed changes address the needs of riders.
“We may hear from people that even a quarter is too much of an increase during a pandemic,” she said. “Do a majority of our public think this is a good idea?
“I do think we will hear from a lot of people who do think it is a good idea.”
The proposal calls for keeping the cost for daily ($7), weekly ($25), monthly ($97.50) and yearly passes ($1,072.50) the same.
This would be the authority’s first general fare increase since 2012. In January 2017, the agency switched from a two-tiered system that charged $2.50 for shorter trips and $2.75 for longer trips to a flat fare of $2.50 for all riders who use prepaid ConnectCards and $2.75 for cash customers.
With these proposed changes, the authority estimated it would lose about $1 million in revenue. In fiscal year 2019 — the most recent comparable year due to rider reductions last year during the pandemic — the authority collected about $2 million in transfer fees.
The authority said research shows about 20% of riders transfer from one form of transit to another to reach their final destination, and of those, 31% are minorities. Of all those who transfer, about 35% earn less than $25,000 a year.
The authority hired California consultant Four Nine Technologies under a threeyear, $210,000 contract in January 2019 to review its fare structure. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation requires transit agencies to review fares every two years.