The Tucson Bus Riders Union is asking the Tucson City Council not to raise bus fares following a labor strike last summer.
The council listened to Bus Riders Union members at a hearing Tuesday while considering the draft of a $1.37 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The city manager has recommended a 10-cent increase in bus fares in the fiscal year beginning July 1 and then a 15-cent increase the following year.
The base fare would increase from $1.50 to $1.75 over two years, and the discount fare would increase from 50 cents to 75 cents over two years.
There would be other increases in other fares, including express passes, day passes, monthly passes and student passes.
Sarah Lanius, a Tucson Bus Riders Union member, said this is not the time to raise fares because riders lost confidence in the bus system after the strike.
Ridership hasn’t rebounded after the strike, said Brian Flagg, a member of the union and a member of the city’s Transit Task Force, which voted 4-2 to recommend against raising fares.
Years of struggles with the Sun Tran budget led to the strike, which lasted 42 days through the hottest part of the summer and saw people waiting in long lines for limited service.
The City Council repeatedly has rejected fare increases, mainly to protect low-income riders. About half of all Sun Tran riders pay discounted fares.
In addition to fare changes, the city is planning changes to Sun Tran routes 6, 7, 9, 15, 17, 20, 27 and 37, eight out of around 45 routes, and to Sun Van ADA and Sun Shuttle Dial-A-Ride services.
The city is offering a series of open-house meetings to discuss the changes.
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said the city has to find a way to increase revenue for the transit system, but said it should be done in a way that doesn’t hurt the lowest-income people.
Councilman Paul Cunningham, speaking after the meeting, said he is working on a compromise that would phase in increases at about 10 percent per year. He also will propose a $24 discount pass that’s worth $30. “I think those will sell like hotcakes,” he said.
Cunningham’s compromise plan likely will be discussed on May 17, when the council will hold another public hearing and vote on tentative approval of the budget.
An additional public hearing and final vote are planned for June 7.
