Council consider fare increases to provide extended bus service

In the wake of cuts to the city’s bus system, the Lodi City Council will discuss at its meeting Wednesday  a proposal that would increase fares to restore some of the city’s weekend service.

To deal with a $373,000 shortfall in state funding, the council made cuts to the transit system that included decreasing the hours of service Saturday and eliminating all service Sunday. The cuts started Nov. 2.

With the fare increase, the city would be able to restore service Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and extend Saturday service from 9:15 a.m. to 3:09 p.m. to an earlier start of 7:45 a.m. to 3:09 p.m, according to a city staff report.
Under the city’s proposal, here are the rate increases:
Fixed routes:
• Tickets for the general public will increase from $1 to $1.25.
• Tickets for seniors, people with disabilities and people on Medicare will increase from $0.50 to $0.65.
Dial-a-Ride and VineLine (which is the equivalent of Dial-a-Ride for people with disabilities):
• Tickets for the general public will increase from $5 to  $7.
• Tickets for seniors, people with disabilities and people on Medicare will increase from $1.50 to $2.

The council will not be deciding Wednesday night whether or not to increase fares/expand hours. But they will discuss it and tell staff whether they want to consider the matter further at a future council meeting.

Read more in Wednesday’s paper.