It is very unfortunate that the increase in the cost of gas, which many of us hoped would tip the consumers over to a world of public and alternative transportation, leads to reduced service and increased costs, so that consumers will weigh the options and continue to choose driving single occupant gasoline vehicles.

RTD rate increases are too much, and they are pricing and reducing themselves out of significance.

I want to encourage the boys to use this form of transport for lots of reasons – environmental, increased independence and confidence etc.. but I also want them to realise that going on mass transit is the most convenient and cost effective way to travel regularly. The convenience of a single pass is absolutely crucial – when you have one you never think twice about taking mass transit, just hopping on and off – when you live / work in London the tube / bus is just so convenient – who needs a taxi?

However, can I make a radical suggestion? Instead of worrying if you have enough people in a certain neighbourhood in Boulder why don’t you just expand the idea of neighbourhood so that it covers say Boulder City. The number of people that need to be signed up can initially be set to the number of people in Boulder City that currently use the Eco Pass system, perhaps even a 5% increase on that number to start encouraging take up, and offset the RTD budget increases. Just set a deadline to apply by, and of course advertise widely to all existing NECO areas. You should find that you easily get the numbers that you need and cut down on administration into the bargain. There must be many people who live in neighbourhoods currently in Boulder that just can’t raise the initial numbers to get a NECO started. Each year the qualifying number can be reviewed.

I think that the people of Boulder would go for this.

I expect a similar aggregating system could also be applied for the small company side.

Let’s get people onto the buses and out of their cars for all that commuting !

Oh by the way I do think that a $5 surcharge to DIA is still good value as the parking alone for a day would cost that much….

http://ga6.org/campaign/rtd_090908

The Regional Transportation District is considering a proposal that would raise the rates of Eco Passes for small businesses, and is holding two public hearings today to discuss the proposed change.

Sixty-six percent of companies in the Boulder and Denver area may lose their eligibility to provide employees with Eco Passes — an incentive program that allows employers to purchase RTD transportation passes for employees at a discounted rate — if the proposed increase is approved, according to Boulder East Community Transportation Options.

However, RTD says they are just implementing a contract minimum after analyzing the cost for providing Eco Passes and considering necessary adjustments.

RTD is raising rates 14-percent across the board for all bus and light rail fares to help offset an increase in costs, mainly gas prices. The public transportation company is proposing to increase the cost of the Eco Pass program an additional 5 percent to match “the increased utilization that is seen with the Eco Pass.”

Critics of the proposed rate change claim the increase would negatively impact small businesses and the environment.

“I don’t doubt that they have budget problems and it’s serious,” said Bob Whitson of Boulder East Community Transportation Options. “But eliminating small businesses from this really important program is not the option.”

Courtney Coe, human resource manager for Space Science Institute, said many of the company’s 43 employees rely on the Eco Pass to get to and from work. She added that the pass is used as a recruitment tool to offer prospective employees and is a good boost for office morale.

“They are supposed to be a public transportation company, and it doesn’t seem like they are considering what’s best for the public,” she said.

Coe argued that RTD should consider raising the sales tax, which helps funds RTD, to offset rising fuel costs and keep the Eco Pass program at the same price.

However, RTD spokesman Scott Reed said raising the sales tax specifically for the Eco Pass wouldn’t be appropriate.

“A really small percentage of our passengers benefit from the Eco Pass program, while sales taxes are paid by everyone in the metro area,” he said. “So in fact, we would have everyone paying for a small number who would benefit.”

Reed also said the Eco Pass provides a scenario where passengers who don’t have one are paying a cash fare and subsidizing people who use the discounted pass.

”It is an equity issue,” he said.

Public input on the proposed increase ends Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. RTD has scheduled 17 public hearings throughout the Denver metro area on the issue.

The RTD board of directors will makes a decision on the proposed increase either later this month or in October.

RTD management has proposed changes to the Eco Pass program that would raise prices by an unprecedented 19% in 2009; eliminate over 500 of the employers currently active in the Eco Pass program; add a $5 per ride surcharge for Eco Pass users of the DIA skyRide service and freeze growth in the neighborhood Eco Pass program. In addition RTD proposes to raise most fares by 14% – local cash fares would increase from $1.75 to $2.00 per trip; skyRide fares would go up by $1; monthly Local passes would rise from $60 to $68/month, Express passes from $108 to $126/month and Regional monthly passes would go up from $144 to $162/month. The CU Student Bus Pass fee would also need to be increased to keep up with the 14% fare increases.

CU-Boulder supports RTD’s request for the 14% across the board increase in fares to address rising operations costs – including fuel costs and the cost of new service to support increasing ridership. Perhaps now more than ever we all need a solvent RTD to provide good transit.  However, considering that RTD was granted increases to Eco Pass pricing of 10% in 2006 and 12% in 2008 for similar reasons, we feel that another 19% in 2009 is excessive and ask the RTD Board to limit the increase in Eco Pass pricing to the 14% level applied to all other fares and ask that this increase be spread over two years at 7% per year. 

CU-Boulder has requested that RTD reconsider implementation of all current proposals with the exception of the 14% across the board rate increase for the following reasons:

- Additional 5% Eco Pass increase: RTD implemented a 10% increase in 2006 that was not applied to the Express or Regional pass programs. This increase has generated enough added revenue over the last three years to cover any added operating costs associated with new service from increased Eco Pass ridership. Eco Pass riders account for only about 10% of all ridership so most added service costs for higher ridership are not Eco Pass related.

- Increase minimum number of employees for Eco Pass eligibility: This change would eliminate two-thirds of the businesses that currently participate in the Eco Pass program, over 500 employers, at a time when RTD needs community support in addressing its FasTracks budget woes. The average employer size has doubled since RTD began taking steps to restrict smaller business participation in the Eco Pass program. RTD has not studied the Eco Pass program as a whole to find out if it is in the red, in the black or breaking even relative to cash fares, other pass programs or in relation to the fare-related portion of the cost of service. A ten-fold increase in minimum employer size is far too extreme an action to take without supporting data that shows this change is necessary or that indicates it is certain to be beneficial.

- Freeze growth on neighborhood Eco Pass programs: Now is the time that the public needs better access to transit – now more than ever. RTD has dragged its feet for years on implementation of the technology needed to provide management with the information to evaluate its pass programs – even though a State audit called on RTD to collect this information to evaluate its pass programs. Members of the public should not be punished for RTD’s inaction.

- skyRide $5 surcharge: The skyRide is already included in the Eco Pass program pricing. If RTD wants to charge separately for this currently included service, the price of the Eco Pass should be reduced by a corresponding amount. This surcharge violates the fundamental concept of the Eco Pass as a pass that increases ridership by conveniently covering all regular rides in the RTD system.

The above four proposed changes to the Eco Pass program should be vetted with the Board’s standing Eco Pass Study Group for consideration per the Board’s August 2004 direction as RTD invests in new fareboxes and electronic pass cards and finally begins collecting the long needed management information on all of RTD’s pass programs in January 2009.

Please share your input with RTD even if you’re not a bus rider. RTD is largely funded by sales tax dollars and even if you don’t ride the bus, consider the impact if everyone currently using the Eco Pass joined you on the highway.

Before the RTD Board makes their final decision about these rate increases on October 21, we suggest you provide you feedback in the following ways:

1. Attend and provide public comment at one of two RTD board meetings in Denver. Go to the RTD building at 1600 Blake St. in downtown Denver:  Tuesday, September 16 at 5:30 p.m. or Tuesday, October 21 at 5:30 p.m. See: http://www.rtd-denver.com/TheBoard/schedule.htm

2. Contact your RTD Board member before the 5 PM September 19 public comment deadline. See: http://www.rtd-denver.com/TheBoard/index.html to find your Director. RTD asks that you send a copy of anything you send to your Director to the Board’s Executive Manager as well at: paula.perdue@rtd-denver.com

3. Attend one of the seventeen hearings that RTD has scheduled between Wednesday, September 10 and Thursday, September 18. A listing of dates, times and locations can be found at: http://www.rtd-denver.com/News/fare_change/fare_change_brochure.html Your input will be collected at any of these hearings but will carry the most weight if you attend the hearing closest to your home.

If you plan to attend a hearing in Boulder, please be advised that there will be a major football game in progress on campus at the time of the Thursday, September 18th RTD hearing here from 6-8 pm in the UMC’s Glenn Miller Ballroom at 1669 Euclid Ave. Car parking will be extremely difficult and costly – so plan ahead to arrive on foot, by bike or transit if possible. Consider attending RTD’s earlier Boulder hearing at Noon the same day at the Boulder Public Library’s Canyon Theatre at 1000 Canyon Blvd.