UTA to unveil plans for paratransit fares

Utah Transit Authority paratransit riders may face a fare increase as soon as 2010.

In the latest paratransit proposal, distributed at a Tuesday meeting and obtained by the Deseret News, UTA only commits to not raise fares through the end of 2009.

UTA officials told the media and legislators at a June 17 meeting of the Transportation Interim Committee that it had abandoned a springtime proposal to raise fares from $2.50 to $4 per one-way trip.

UTA managers say paratransit service must be altered because of its high cost and depressed sales-tax revenues the transit authority relies on for operating costs.

While saying paratransit fares will likely increase over the years, as the price of all services tend to increase, UTA attorney Bruce Jones told legislators there would be "nothing like that which was being discussed of an increase of double or whatever," he said. "Nothing like that."

But a proposal distributed Tuesday to a group that included members of the disabled community and was obtained by the Deseret News states that "UTA will not increase the paratransit fare this year."

Does that mean paratransit fares will increase Jan. 1, 2010?

UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said he could not answer the question and deferred it to UTA general manager John Inglish, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Inglish will unveil the proposal to the media and the UTA Board of Trustees on Wednesday. Trustees are expected to vote on the proposal Aug. 26.

The lack of specifics about how much of a fare increase paratransit riders face worries Mark Smith of Access Utah Network, an information referral service for Utahns with disabilities. Many people in the disabled community live on fixed incomes and do not own cars.

Smith is encouraged, however, by another promise in UTA's most recent proposal: "While paratransit fare increases may happen in the future, they will take place when we increase fares for all riders."

"The bottom line is able-bodied people are the ones they have to please," Smith said, and if UTA raises fares several times a year, it'll anger able-bodied riders.

The newest proposal reiterates what UTA officials have been warning since springtime — that the agency must cut paratransit service to people who live further than three-quarters of a mile from a regular route. The latest proposal specifies that people will be phased out between Sept. 1 and April 30, 2010.

Smith, who was at Tuesday's UTA meeting, said UTA will likely offer "deviated routes" for people who live beyond three-quarters of a mile. A deviated route is a bus that leaves its regular route to pick up a nearby resident.

The proposal, however, says that "UTA still faces a deficit of $18 million this year." UTA hopes to partner with federal, state and nonprofit organizations to find ways to maximize service and cut costs.

e-mail: lhancock@desnews.com

TWITTER: laurahancock