© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bus Fares Will Go Up In Broward

Creative Commons via Flickr
/
Michael Conrad (https://flic.kr/p/5QSnhS)

Broward County will increase its bus with about half of those hikes starting in November and the rest kicking off in October 2015.

The challenge in changing public transportation fares is that increases tend to disproportionately affect minorities and the poor.

In a 36-page document put out by Broward County Transit, who uses each type of bus fare -- regular one-way, 31-day pass, reduced senior-disabled, etc. -- is broken down by race and income.

These numbers dictated how much the various types of fares were increased.

At the commission meeting, Commissioner Kristin Jacobs says if fares weren’t increased, they would have had to cut bus routes due to growing financial pressures.

“It’s a tough call for us to sit up here and raise a rate and it's tough to hear from those who are using the system who really need to have those dollars in their pockets,” said Jacobs.

However, she adds, “the truth is, the future shows declining service, which is ultimately going to hurt the riders much more than the changes to the fares status as it is now.”

Jacobs hopes the county can figure out another way to steer money towards public transit in the future. For now, though, the increases put Broward county fares closer to those of Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties’.

More On This Topic