Last month, the UTA board agreed to postpone a vote of fare increases to further study paratransit, senior and disabled fares. The study prompted UTA to delay paratransit increases until 2006.

"We have a very cooperative relationship with the disabled community, and we said, 'You know what, we don't want to raise it,' " Inglish said. "They work with us very well."

As for other increases, he encouraged the low-income to communicate with state agencies.

"We think it's their responsibility to work with the agencies and institutions sent up by the state," he said.

Bill Germundson, a Crossroads Urban Center employee who organized a protest Monday, said UTA is missing the point. Those who ride the bus already pay for it with a diversion of sales tax that helps fund the agency. With that money, UTA should operate a free system like Logan, he said.

"The point here is to get more people to ride the bus," he said, "not a flawed philosophy of raising the fares."