Washington County leaders say transit fare hikes are fair

Not wanting to be outdone by the mayor of Minneapolis, the Washington County Board has entered the debate over higher transit fares.

But unlike the mayor, who opposes the idea, the Washington County Board supports it.

The board voted 5-0 Tuesday to adopt a resolution endorsing a 25-cent increase in bus and train fares this year and, if necessary, another fare hike of up to 50 cents next year.

"After I read what the Minneapolis mayor was saying, I said we should go on the record saying that fares should cover a larger portion of the transit services," said Dennis Hegberg, chairman of the County Board. "Our philosophy is that we should all pay for the [transit] system, but the riders should pay for riding it."

Metropolitan Council leaders have proposed increasing transit fares by 25 cents this fall with another increase of 50 cents possible next year.

The extra revenue would generate $7 million to help offset a $15 million budget deficit.

Metro Transit officials say that although ridership is up significantly since the start of the year, so are costs.

Last month, the council held public hearings on the issue.

At one hearing, a chorus of voices objected to higher transit fares. Among them were bus riders, leaders of social service agencies and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who said increasing fares would deter riders from using public transit.

Washington County Commissioner Myra Peterson said the suburbs in the east metro are underserved when it comes to transit service. That's one of the reasons why she supports the fare increase, she said.

It will bring the distribution of costs between public subsidies and fares closer to the 70/30 percent ratio she favors, and will help pay for additional service to the outer suburbs.

"If you don't have people paying at least 30 percent," she said, "we'll never get any more."