On Wednesday, the AC Transit Board of Directors will vote on whether or not to raise local fares from $2.50 to $3.00 over the next two years. Call in (or show up) to speak out against this fare hike. RSVP here to get more info.
The proposal is to raise the local cash fare in two steps — from $2.50 to $2.75 starting July 1, 2025 and then to $3 on July 1, 2026. Transbay fare would also go from $6 to $6.50. The price of fare passes would increase as multiples of the single ride fare.
Meanwhile, service isn’t getting better. AC Transit is asking us all to pay more and get less. Tell them no! RSVP here to speak out!
Fare increases lower ridership, hurting ALL East Bay Residents. Higher prices = fewer customers. When you decrease bus ridership, you put more cars on the road slowing traffic and dirtying the air for everyone. It also leaves folks stranded who cannot get by in other ways which hurts people’s ability to get to work and wherever else they need to go
Fare increases hurt low-income households. AC Transit rider's median yearly household income is under $36,500, and 42% lack access to a vehicle.* It’s unjust to ask these riders to pay more for bus service when their incomes are already stretched thin by inflation and the high cost of living in the East Bay.
AC Transit needs to be looking for other ways to find the funding they need. For example, AC Transit has an unfair contract for use of the Salesforce Transbay Terminal in SF — it costs AC Transit $4.2 million a year. Meanwhile they hope to raise $4.1 million from fare increases. AC Transit needs to find the money elsewhere — don’t squeeze riders!
At a bare minimum AC Transit should not increase fares until the free transfer between local buses goes into effect. This will also help get more low-income riders on Clipper START since there will be even more benefit of using a Clipper card. It will lower the implementation costs for AC Transit requiring only one round of public outreach and sign updates about fare changes.
Lastly, AC Transit’s revenue projections from increasing fares is overly optimistic (to put it nicely). Raising prices 20% will NOT get AC Transit 20% more revenue. In their revenue calculations, they assume that raising fares will NOT reduce ridership. That’s flat wrong. If prices go up, people will find other options, take fewer trips altogether, or short the fare.
AC Transit Board members are already suggesting they spend more money on fare enforcement even though that will likely cost more than it saves and it can raise the risks of police violence on transit as we’ve seen from other agencies.
We stopped the fare hike last year and we can do it again — but it’ll take a LOT of people speaking out. Can we count on you to speak out Wednesday and spread the word in the meantime?
(Also -- if you are a member of another group, or work at a place that might be interested in signing on to a letter to oppose the fare hikes, please let us know by emailing info@transbaycoalition.org)
Thank you,
Carter Lavin
Transbay Coalition
