Revenue falls short, ridership starts dipping . . . but that’s not what the Mayor and Metro staff are selling . . . and the reporters are buying.
So, the bus fare increases aren’t quite living up to expectations. In fact, it seems that they brought in $440,000 less than predicted. Remember, the whole reason we needed to raise the bus fares was over an alleged $685,000 revenue increase, even tho there were other options. So, on the revenue side of the fare increase . . . big Mayor Dave FAIL!! What if instead of getting an additional $685,000, we’re down $880,000 in revenues at the end of the year? Here‘s the numbers that compare the money taken in from the cash fares and daily, 10-ride, monthly and unlimited ride passes, see page 2. (And I’m not sure I’m buying the explanation that more people are using bus passes instead of paying cash fares, maybe, people are just not riding the bus in the nicer weather?)
Worse yet, check out the ridership numbers . . .
Before the Bus Fare Increase
January 2008: 1,053,552
January 2009: 1,112,562
February 2008: 1,323,109
February 2009: 1,376,551
March 2008: 1,175,384
March 2009: 1,350,400
After the Bus Fare Increase
April 2008: 1,308,172
April 2009: 1,334,028
Smallest increase this year . . .
May 2008: 1,045,194
May 2009: 1,031,449
June 2008: 827,119
June 2009: 819,950
The rest of the report is here, see page 2. I’d give you the paratransit rides, but if you look on page 7, the numbers are missing, it only goes through 2007 (at least at the time of publishing this blog). And while they may have had 4.3% increase in ridership during the first half of the year, its not the 6% they said they would have. And since the fares went up, the ridership is down, instead of increasing by that 6% that was talked about. The numbers Solomon predicted at the time were mostly about a decrease in the rate of increase, so in some ways, the decrease in ridership is really almost worse than he predicted.
Even more disappointing is that the only people quoted in Tarr’s article were the Mayor and the staff who supported the fare increases and they have declared victory after two months by using misleading numbers. Unfortunately, the reporter didn’t talk to anyone who was against the increases who would have noticed the decrease in ridership immediately, in addition to the short fall in revenues and pointed it out. This is what people were worried about, its called the death spiral. Ridership down, revenue down, so have to make cuts to break even . . . lather, rinse, repeat . . .
Here’s a little reminder of how people voted:
AYE: Pham-Remmele, Sanborn, Schumacher, Skidmore, Bruer, Clausius, Clear, Cnare, Compton, Monson and Palm.
NO: Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Solomon, Webber, Gruber, Judge, Kerr, Konkel.
ABSENT: Verveer
I wonder how folks are feeling about their votes about now? Decreasing ridership, revenues not as projected and low-income people in the city essentially told that the council does not care about them . . . way to go Madison!
