Fare Is Up, Riders Down on RTD : 50 Era Reaches End of Line With Return of 85 Ride

Monday marked the end of the 50-cent era and the return of the 85-cent bus fare for Southern California Rapid Transit District riders. With the change came a drop in ridership.

Gary Spivack, RTD’s director of planning, said some buses were still so packed that they passed up passengers, but he said an eventual drop-off in ridership is expected. Spivack said he could provide no accurate ridership figures for a few weeks.

Some riders, however, reported a sharp drop-off, especially on long-distance commuter lines.

Charles Villanueva, a state Department of Transportation senior traffic engineer who commutes from Glendora, said he found less than half of his 90 or so usual colleagues on the double-decker bus to Los Angeles.

“The commuters were down to zilch,” said Villanueva, whose monthly park-and-ride express bus pass went from $55 to $92 after the fare boost.

The hot engines and air-conditioning breakdowns on dozens of buses were blamed on Monday’s searing heat wave, but the fare increase and resulting service cuts caused most of the day’s problems.

The transit district, which serves five Southland counties, boosted fares for the first time in three years Monday after a local transit subsidy that had made the 50-cent fare possible was discontinued. The money now goes into a fund for transit projects under terms of a ballot measure approved by voters in 1980.

In addition to basic fares climbing to 85 cents, monthly bus passes increased from $20 to $32, and express stamps for freeway service rose from $7 to $12. Transfers now cost 10 cents each where the same dime used to buy unlimited transfers.

Under the new fare plan, the elderly and handicapped pay a 40-cent fare and their monthly passes cost $7. However, a number of cities, including Los Angeles, as well as most unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, are providing funds to continue the old 20-cent fare and $4 monthly pass for elderly and handicapped residents.

Some cities also are hoping to help student riders, who had enjoyed discount fares but now face paying the same 85-cent fare as other riders.