Laguna Beach : Bus-Fare Hike, Parking Problems to Be Weighed

Fare increases for riders on Laguna Beach’s tiny municipal bus system, as well as short-term solutions to the downtown parking crunch, will considered by the City Council tonight.

The City Council will hear public testimony before taking a vote on a proposal to raise the amount riders on the city’s bus system pay for one-way fares from 40 cents to 50 cents.

If approved, the fare hike would go into effect July 1 and would be the first in three years.

Terry Brandt, director of municipal services, said the 10-cent increase is needed because declining revenues and increased operating expenses have left the four-bus city service strapped for money.

“The price of gas has actually decreased compared with a few years ago and its availability compared with a few years ago has improved,” he said. “Coupled with the inconvenience that people have to abide with when using public transportation, this has led to a reduction in patronage.”

Brandt said revenues have steadily decreased over the last three years from $39,500 in fiscal 1982-83 to $32,600 during the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

No plans exist to add either more buses or routes to the system, which also serves Monarch Bay in South Laguna, in an attempt to attract more riders, he said.

“When you’re talking new routes and buses, you’re talking about increased costs,” he said. “We think we have an adequate level of service now.”

Also before the council will be a proposal by Laguna Beach’s Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee to set meter rates in the city’s downtown parking structure, under construction at Glenneyre Street, at 50 cents an hour.

The committee is also asking the council to set aside $3,000 during the upcoming fiscal year to study alternatives to putting meters in the 218-car structure. Brandt said that some of the possibilities would include hiring attendants and basing rates on the number of hours parked.

In addition, he said, the committee plans to ask permission to hire an outside consultant to assist in an examination of this summer’s parking situation as part of a search for a long-term solution to the congestion.

“We’ll take a look at the problems arising this summer and use them as grist for examining other alternatives to the problem,” he said.

Next month, the parking committee will consider imposing time limits and raising parking meter rates in the downtown business district from 30 cents to 50 cents an hour.

Brandt said that if the committee recommends increases and time limits, the proposals would come before the council for a vote in early August.