Utahns back UTA fare hike for fuel

A majority of Utahns say the Utah Transit Authority should temporarily raise fares to combat the high cost of diesel fuel.

A recent Dan Jones & Associates poll for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV shows that 71 percent of Utahns think UTA should "definitely" or "probably" implement a proposed temporary 25-cent surcharge next year on one-way transit rides. Of the respondents, 15 percent said they earn less than $25,000 per year. About 67 percent of that group said UTA should implement the surcharge.

The majority of UTA riders make less than $25,000 per year.

Orrin T. Colby Jr., president of the UTA Board of Trustees, said the poll results were surprising.

"I'm a little surprised and very pleased at what I consider to be a little higher of a number (of supporters) than I thought we might have gotten from a poll of that nature," Colby said. "At the same time, all of us have experienced fuel cost increases and I think it's a natural thing for people to pay for what we've been experiencing."

UTA general manager John Inglish first proposed in October that the temporary 25-cent surcharge be implemented. The agency is facing $6 million in additional fuel costs next year and without the surcharge, officials say they may need to permanently raise fares or dramatically cut service.

If implemented, the surcharge would not apply to seniors, the low-income or disabled riders. It is being considered as part of UTA's 2006 budget and would not take effect until June.

UTA spokesman Justin Jones says the agency is watching fare revenues and the cost of fuel to see if the surcharge will be needed. The agency is currently paying $2.31 for a gallon for fuel — about 49 cents less than prices paid in October. Historically, costs have been about $1 per gallon. Prices still need to drop for UTA to consider scrapping the surcharge, said Jones.

"We budgeted $1.20 a gallon for 2005," he said. "Typically we have budgeted 93 cents a gallon."

Jones says only one group has spoken in opposition to the proposed surcharge: the Anti-Hunger Action Committee, a low-income advocacy group affiliated with the Crossroads Urban Center in Salt Lake City.

Colby says the group has not expressed any understanding of UTA's position on the surcharge.