CCTA Board of Commissioners Establish New Bus Fares
Commissioners Vote Unanimously to Increase Passenger Fares
Burlington, Vermont: Members of the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) Board of Commissioners adopted a new fare structure on Wednesday night, a move that is designed to generate an additional $171,280 per year in fare box revenues for CCTA.
The following new fares will take effect on February 21, 2005:
Adult cash fare: $1.25
Adult 31-day pass: $42.00
Adult 10-ride ticket: $10.00
Discounted cash fare: 60 cents
Discounted 31-day pass: $21.00
Discounted 10-ride ticket: $5.00
CCTA's commuter services will follow the below fare structure:
PARC 31-day pass: $18.00
Montpelier LINK Express:
One-way cash fare: $4.00
31-day pass: $125.00
10-ride ticket: $40.00
New! CCTA will introduce a Next Town Ticket, which will allow passengers to travel to the next town on the Montpelier LINK Express for a reduced fare of $3.00 (for example, traveling from Richmond to Burlington or Richmond to Waterbury will only be $3.00). 10-ride Next Town Tickets will be available at CCTA's Cherry Street Station for $30.00.
The Board of Commissioners decided to keep the fares for the Middlebury LINK Express at their current rate, since the service has only been in operation for three months and a core base of riders is still being established. Passengers will now be required to pay full fare on CCTA's Sunday Special and residents who use CCTA's Para-transit services will pay $2.50 per ride. The Board of Commissioners also asked the CCTA General Manager to draft a policy which will allow businesses and social service organizations to buy 31-day passes, 10-ride tickets and single ride coupons in bulk at a discounted rate.
The fare increase was proposed due to the rising fuel and insurance costs that CCTA has faced. The CCTA Board of Commissioners also adopted the CCTA FY06 budget at their Wednesday meeting, which hands down assessment increases to member communities for the first time in four years.
"CCTA has done a wonderful job keeping member assessments low for many years, but unfortunately, this trend cannot continue," said Dave Davis, Chairman of the CCTA Board of Commissioners. "An increase in fares for passengers to pay is always the last means to raise more revenue. We hope that residents understand that this will make our system more sustainable and will continue to support CCTA," said Davis. CCTA has not increased bus fares since 1995.
Public hearings were held throughout January in all CCTA member communities, Montpelier and Middlebury to collect input on the proposed fares. Hearings were sparsely attended by members of the public, but the comments given helped the Commissioners decide what fares would be appropriate.
The Chittenden County Transportation Authority operates the region's public transit buses and provides 1.8 million rides per year in the Burlington area. CCTA has a forty-seven bus fleet, which services Burlington, Essex, Shelburne, South Burlington, Williston, Winooski and a portion of Colchester. CCTA also operates express bus services to Montpelier and Middlebury, creating transit connections to Addison, Lamoille and Washington counties. The mission of CCTA is to make efficient transportation services available to all residents of and visitors to the Chittenden County region that are safe, accessible, reliable, clean, affordable and sustainable, thereby enhancing the quality of life for all. For CCTA route and schedule information, please call (802) 864-CCTA or log onto www.cctaride.org.