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The Roaring Fork Transportation Agency's fare hike this fall has made private vehicles more competitive with the bus system at a time when the organization is spending millions of dollars on an expansion.
RFTA's board of directors raised cash fares an average of 22 percent last month in an effort to ease the loss of sales tax revenues during the recession. Only one director, Ed Cortez of Carbondale, objected to the fare hike.
Just as skiers are running calculations to figure out the most economical season pass to purchase, some commuters are now comparing the costs of driving versus riding the bus.
Take a bus rider who commutes between El Jebel and Aspen, for example. It requires 10 punches to travel round trip at about 75 cents per punch for a total of $7.50 per day. That works out to $37.50 for a five-day work week.
Let's say that commuter has a vehicle that gets 25 miles per gallon. The commute is 40 miles per day and 200 miles per week. That requires eight gallons of gas at a current price of about $3 per gallon for a total of $24. That's $13.50 less than taking the bus — assuming the driver can avoid parking charges in Aspen by finding a passenger and getting a car pool permit, using a private lot or parking for free if they have a hybrid vehicle.
RFTA Director Dan Blankenship said the true cost of driving adds at least another 5 cents per mile for tires and maintenance of the vehicle. That would add at least $10 per week to the cost of driving. That's still less than the cost to take the bus, but Blankenship noted that gas prices will likely climb above $3 per gallon before long.
He also noted there are other hidden costs to driving, like insurance, licenses and registration, which need to be amortized over the life of the vehicle. There are intangible factors — both positive and negative — to driving and riding the bus. Bus riders can relax and read, avoid traffic jams entering and exiting Aspen, and reduce the stress of driving on a snowy winter day. Mass transit also emits fewer greenhouse gases.
Car drivers have greater flexibility on travel times, don't have to stand on crowded buses, and don't have to dodge sneezing and sniffling passengers during flu season.
The decision on whether or not to take the bus often boils down to personal preference, but making it more economical to do so might be an important factor for some people.
“As a long-term strategy, it is very important for the cost of using transit to be competitive with other alternatives people have,” Blankenship said in an e-mail interview.
“In difficult economic times, people are being forced to make difficult choices, and no one should be blamed for choosing the most economical or convenient method of commuting for themselves,” Blankenship said. “Carpooling is very cost-effective and to the extent that more people do it, the goal of reducing auto congestion can be achieved without the need for government subsidies.
“I deeply regret the need to raise fares and reduce services, and I recognize that RFTA will lose riders in the short term as a result,” Blankenship continued. “Yet, in the long term, when Bus Rapid Transit is implemented, I believe we will win them back and attract many new users as well.”
Bruce Christensen, chairman of RFTA's board of directors, agreed that the organization is “strongly committed” to making bus ridership compare favorably to driving personal vehicles.
“As we continue to improve our service and fleet we hope that the ridership experience can consistently exceed that of driving a personal car,” Christensen said. “Riders can currently use their commuting time to read or work. If we are able to eventually provide wi-fi service on our buses, riders will have the opportunity to use their commuting time even more productively.”
Nevertheless, the fare hike will force some riders out of buses, Blankenship acknowledged. A transportation industry standard says that ridership will drop 4 percent for each 10 percent increase in fares, he said.
“According to the formula, (RFTA) ridership could decrease, on average, by approximately 9 percent,” Blankenship said.
It was a tough decision to raise fares, but one that was necessary, he said. The cash fare increase will raise an extra $130,000 the remainder of this year and an estimated $370,000 next year.
RFTA wants to avoid dipping into reserves as much as possible. However, even with the fare increase, it projects a $1.2 million shortfall in its 2010 general budget.
The board of directors has decided it won't dip into a multimillion-dollar pot set aside for the expansion of the bus system. Voters approved a sales tax increase last November for that expansion.
That leaves RFTA in the odd position of cutting its operating budget while it is spending other funds on expansion.
“Between now and October, we will be combing through the budget looking for anything and everything we can trim or eliminate that isn't essential to the operation,” Blankenship said. “However, at some point, our options are likely going to be additional service decreases; using additional general fund reserves; or diverting revenue into the general fund from funds that will be needed to construct and operate Bus Rapid Transit.”
None of those options are great, he said.
scondon@aspentimes.com
RFTA's board of directors raised cash fares an average of 22 percent last month in an effort to ease the loss of sales tax revenues during the recession. Only one director, Ed Cortez of Carbondale, objected to the fare hike.
Just as skiers are running calculations to figure out the most economical season pass to purchase, some commuters are now comparing the costs of driving versus riding the bus.
Take a bus rider who commutes between El Jebel and Aspen, for example. It requires 10 punches to travel round trip at about 75 cents per punch for a total of $7.50 per day. That works out to $37.50 for a five-day work week.
Let's say that commuter has a vehicle that gets 25 miles per gallon. The commute is 40 miles per day and 200 miles per week. That requires eight gallons of gas at a current price of about $3 per gallon for a total of $24. That's $13.50 less than taking the bus — assuming the driver can avoid parking charges in Aspen by finding a passenger and getting a car pool permit, using a private lot or parking for free if they have a hybrid vehicle.
RFTA Director Dan Blankenship said the true cost of driving adds at least another 5 cents per mile for tires and maintenance of the vehicle. That would add at least $10 per week to the cost of driving. That's still less than the cost to take the bus, but Blankenship noted that gas prices will likely climb above $3 per gallon before long.
He also noted there are other hidden costs to driving, like insurance, licenses and registration, which need to be amortized over the life of the vehicle. There are intangible factors — both positive and negative — to driving and riding the bus. Bus riders can relax and read, avoid traffic jams entering and exiting Aspen, and reduce the stress of driving on a snowy winter day. Mass transit also emits fewer greenhouse gases.
Car drivers have greater flexibility on travel times, don't have to stand on crowded buses, and don't have to dodge sneezing and sniffling passengers during flu season.
The decision on whether or not to take the bus often boils down to personal preference, but making it more economical to do so might be an important factor for some people.
“As a long-term strategy, it is very important for the cost of using transit to be competitive with other alternatives people have,” Blankenship said in an e-mail interview.
“In difficult economic times, people are being forced to make difficult choices, and no one should be blamed for choosing the most economical or convenient method of commuting for themselves,” Blankenship said. “Carpooling is very cost-effective and to the extent that more people do it, the goal of reducing auto congestion can be achieved without the need for government subsidies.
“I deeply regret the need to raise fares and reduce services, and I recognize that RFTA will lose riders in the short term as a result,” Blankenship continued. “Yet, in the long term, when Bus Rapid Transit is implemented, I believe we will win them back and attract many new users as well.”
Bruce Christensen, chairman of RFTA's board of directors, agreed that the organization is “strongly committed” to making bus ridership compare favorably to driving personal vehicles.
“As we continue to improve our service and fleet we hope that the ridership experience can consistently exceed that of driving a personal car,” Christensen said. “Riders can currently use their commuting time to read or work. If we are able to eventually provide wi-fi service on our buses, riders will have the opportunity to use their commuting time even more productively.”
Nevertheless, the fare hike will force some riders out of buses, Blankenship acknowledged. A transportation industry standard says that ridership will drop 4 percent for each 10 percent increase in fares, he said.
“According to the formula, (RFTA) ridership could decrease, on average, by approximately 9 percent,” Blankenship said.
It was a tough decision to raise fares, but one that was necessary, he said. The cash fare increase will raise an extra $130,000 the remainder of this year and an estimated $370,000 next year.
RFTA wants to avoid dipping into reserves as much as possible. However, even with the fare increase, it projects a $1.2 million shortfall in its 2010 general budget.
The board of directors has decided it won't dip into a multimillion-dollar pot set aside for the expansion of the bus system. Voters approved a sales tax increase last November for that expansion.
That leaves RFTA in the odd position of cutting its operating budget while it is spending other funds on expansion.
“Between now and October, we will be combing through the budget looking for anything and everything we can trim or eliminate that isn't essential to the operation,” Blankenship said. “However, at some point, our options are likely going to be additional service decreases; using additional general fund reserves; or diverting revenue into the general fund from funds that will be needed to construct and operate Bus Rapid Transit.”
None of those options are great, he said.
scondon@aspentimes.com
