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Public hearing on VRE fare increase for Amtrak trains to be held tomorrow Date published: 2/14/2007
By KELLY HANNON Virginia Railway Express riders who use Amtrak trains could pay more to commute, and they'll have a chance to speak out about the increase. A public hearing will be held tomorrow at Fredericksburg City Hall beginning at 7 p.m. in council chambers. Comments are also sought on the proposed elimination of Free Ride Certificates. Now, these vouchers are given to passengers whenever a train is more than 30 minutes late. The VRE operations board approved a $64.4 million budget in December. The board decided to raise the Amtrak "step-up" fee and cancel the Free Ride Certificates. The budget, which runs from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, keeps all other ticket prices the same as this year. The "step-up" fee would rise from $2 a trip to $10 a trip. The fee is money riders pay in addition to buying a VRE ticket. Amtrak charges VRE $10 per rider. VRE has been paying the extra $8 for years. About 190 people a day ride Amtrak trains as VRE customers, and most of them ride the Fredericksburg line. Based on VRE passenger counts, 92 of the Amtrak riders live in Spotsylvania, which doesn't support the VRE or have a station. Another 30 riders live in Fredericksburg, plus 21 in Stafford, seven in Orange and five in Caroline. The budget is now before VRE's eight member localities, including Stafford and Fredericksburg. Questions about VRE's governing structure have become part of budget talks. A new membership plan for the operations board was proposed last year. Voting would become proportionate to ridership, and so would the cost of belonging to VRE. Today, a lot of the power and expense rests with Northern Virginia localities, even though a growing number of riders live in the outer, southern suburbs.
Date published: 2/14/2007
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