CPT Supports RTA’s Board Proposal to Kill Fare Increases;
New Fare Structure Must Go Further to Bring Back Riders
Cleveland, OH, September 1, 2020
Today, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s Board of Trustees will consider a proposal from RTA staff to lower the cost of all-day transit passes and improve additional equity issues identified in RTA’s fare structure. Clevelanders for Public Transit applauds efforts to make day passes more affordable, but this does not go far enough. CPT is calling on RTA to lower prices of all fare media by eliminating the “temporary” fuel surcharge from 2008, which became permanent in 2010.
RTA fares have doubled while service has been reduced by over 25% over the past 15 years. Fares have doubled since 2006 after fare increases in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2016. In October 2008, the Board of Trustees approved a temporary 25-cent fuel surcharge, after gas prices hovered well above $3 per gallon for a year. Gas prices have dropped significantly since then, defeating the purpose of a fuel surcharge meant to relieve the agency’s budget from then-costly fuel expenses.
“Pre-COVID, RTA Ridership was already at an all-time low due to RTA charging riders double the fare for declining service,” said Dana Beveridge, daily RTA rider and CPT Lead Organizer. “Higher fares decrease ridership, and lower ridership is used to justify service cuts. This death spiral must be reversed.”
Cleveland is one of the most expensive mid-sized cities in the nation for transit. Those that can afford monthly passes spend nearly 6% of their income on transit. Furthermore, the value of RTA fares have been declining for a long time. RTA eliminated transfers on cash fares in 2003, and last year’s Fare Equity Study validated what transit riders already know: many riders are overpaying for the ability to transfer. Another key issue identified in the study was the high percentage of frequent riders who pay more for fares over time by buying fares with a lower upfront cost, but with cumulative costs that exceed monthly passes.
CPT supports the board’s decision to table the proposal from the August 25 board meeting which would have reduced prices for all-day passes to $5, but allowed fare increases approved in 2016 to take effect in 2021 and 2022 without additional public engagement or board action.
CPT supports the new proposal which would reduce the price of adult all-day passes to $5 and rescind the fare increases originally scheduled to take effect in 2018, but deferred in 2018, 2019 and 2020. This is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough.
RTA riders have endured high fares with declining service for years and deserve fare relief. CPT is calling on the Board of Trustees to reduce the price of all fare media by eliminating the fuel surcharge to align fares with the level and quality of the service RTA provides, restore ridership and generate much-needed goodwill for the agency.
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