Sept. 10--Pace bus riders who pay with cash could see a 25-cent fare increase under a recommendation floated Wednesday.
The proposal would increase cash fares to $2. Pace bus customers who use Ventra cards, the large majority of riders, would continue to pay $1.75 per trip, officials said.
The cash-only fare hike is not a "revenue generator necessary to balance the budget," but instead would encourage more passengers to use Ventra, officials said.
The fare hike is tentative for now, and Pace's board took no action on it Wednesday. The recommendation was part of a preliminary 2016 capital budget proposal totaling $47.6 million.
The budget proposal assumes that Pace will continue to receive an $8.5 million grant from the state for paratransit service. But officials said "some state budget proposals" have eliminated or reduced this grant. The Bruce Rauner administration has proposed such a cut.
If the grant is not received, a paratransit fare increase may be proposed at a later date if the revenue loss triggers a budget shortfall, officials said.
"We're hopeful that this grant will be included in the state's final budget and pledge to continue working with state leadership to illustrate how essential this service is to the region's people with disabilities," Pace Executive Director T.J. Ross said in a statement.
"We will monitor the situation and prepare contingency plans should the funding not materialize. We are very concerned because a fare increase would be difficult for many riders to afford."
Pace said it was following the lead of other agencies like the CTA and the Illinois Tollway in promoting electronic fare payments over cash.
Shifting cash-paying customers to Ventra reduces the costs of handling cash and would provide more convenience and money-saving benefits to customers, Ross said.
Over 80 percent of the rides taken on Pace are paid for using Ventra, so the proposed increase would only affect a minority of customers, officials said.
"Between Ventra's website, toll-free phone number, vending machines, expansive retail network and the Ventra smartphone app that debuts later this year, Ventra is more convenient and accessible than ever, so we believe the time is right to incorporate a cash fare policy employed by other agencies to reduce our costs for handling cash," Ross said.
The preliminary budget earmarked $1 million in service expansion but Pace has not identified those services yet.
rwronski@tribpub.com
