By KELLY HANNON
WOODBRIDGE
--The choice was to either increase ticket prices or reduce train service.The Virginia Railway Express Operations Board decided to keep a full schedule of trains, and ask riders to pay more per trip.
The board yesterday approved a 7 percent fare increase. It is the highest percentage change in VRE's history. Previously, fares had been raised no more than 6 percent at a time.
Higher ticket prices will take effect in January.
Board members followed the recommendation of VRE CEO Dale Zehner, who advised a 7 percent increase. The alternative was to cut train service. A midafternoon train that pulls into Fredericksburg about 2:30 was viewed as vulnerable to elimination.
During the public comment period this fall, VRE received 296 e-mails from riders about the fare increase, which was advertised as potentially being as high as 15 percent in January, and 10 percent next July. Some 44 people attended a series of public hearings.
Overwhelmingly, riders did not want service cut, Zehner told board members. The second-loudest message was to keep any fare increase as low as possible.
A 7 percent increase helps VRE offset a 78 percent rise in fuel costs, expensive maintenance work and a dip in the reserve fund caused by high diesel fuel bills in the spring.
It's unclear how the current decrease in gas prices will affect ridership. In response to a board member's question, Zehner said congestion is usually a greater predictor of a rider's decision to use or leave the train system.
VRE estimates it could lose 100 to 200 passengers a day because of the fare increase, Zehner said.
Recently, VRE has been carrying about 16,300 passengers a day, and logged a record number of riders between July and September. Improved seating in 61 new rail cars and 90 percent on-time arrivals have helped retain riders.
A fare increase of 15 percent would mean a larger loss of riders, Zehner said.
Stafford County Supervisor Paul Milde is worried the fare increase will hurt riders without transit subsidies or six-figure incomes.
He noted that fares were already increased 3 percent this summer. "Another 7 percent is going to be tough for them," Milde said.
Board members Chris Zimmerman of Arlington and Fredericksburg City Councilman Matt Kelly pointed out that the VRE board has tried to work toward fare indexing, so changes are predictable and tied to cost-of-living increases.
This quick succession of fare increases--in July, January and possibly again next July--goes against that, Kelly and Zimmerman said.
Kelly said most localities, including Fredericksburg, cannot afford a subsidy increase next year. Stafford and the city contribute money for the system from a local 2 percent fuels tax.
"I want to be honest and upfront and let the public know what we're dealing with," Kelly said.
Zehner will make a recommendation in December about a July fare increase.
Despite the board's vote, the fare rate must be passed by the two transportation commissions that oversee VRE--the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission. Historically, those commissions pass the fares suggested by the VRE Operations Board.
At the close of the meeting, the prospect of Spotsylvania County's joining VRE was raised by members Kelly and Milde.
In September, VRE sent a letter to Spotsylvania County Administrator Randy Wheeler outlining requirements to join VRE.
The requirements, according to the letter, include $29.5 million in capital projects: a 1,000-space parking lot, a station platform and railroad improvements.
Kelly said the letter "got us nowhere" on Spotsylvania's joining VRE.
There is flexibility to negotiate some of the membership requirements in closed session, Kelly said.
Prince William County Supervisor John Jenkins, chairman of the Operations Board, said he welcomes a formal request to negotiate from Spotsylvania County, but he believed the county was working out internal political disagreements.
"The door has always been open to Spotsylvania County," Jenkins said.
Kelly and Milde said the communication could have struck a more welcoming tone. "It didn't come across in the letter," Milde said.
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com