Bring an Extra Dime to Bus Stop July 1; Fares Will Increase to $1

Starting July 1, a trip on the bus will cost $1, an increase of 10 cents, Orange County transit officials decided Monday.

After a brief public hearing that drew testimony from only two people, the Orange County Transit District board approved the fare hike and, for the first time, imposed a 5-cent transfer fee.

OCTD officials said the fare hike was needed to increase efficiency and reduce the transit district’s reliance on dwindling federal and state grants. They increased fares last July 1 from 85 cents to 90 cents.

Seniors and the disabled will pay 50 cents during peak hours and 20 cents during non-rush hours, an increase of five cents in each case. Fares for seniors and the disabled currently are subsidized by the state, and OCTD officials said Measure M sales tax revenue would provide the subsidy in the next budget year.

But the Orange County Transportation Commission must approve the Measure M subsidy, and Executive Director Stanley T. Oftelie said his agency has some questions about the plan. Oftelie said he feared that OCTD was trying to use Measure M money to replace state grants, which is prohibited under provisions of the measure.

Gary Mudge of Garden Grove, who spoke from a wheelchair, opposed the fare hike approved by OCTD on Monday because it is accompanied by a policy that continues giving free rides to the blind but not the disabled. “I just want fairness,” Mudge said.

Mudge questioned whether it is legal to favor one group over another. But OCTD officials say pending federal legislation may resolve that issue soon. Supervisor Roger R. Stanton said he would rather wait to see what the pending legislation states rather than deny the blind a free ride.

The free ride policy was imposed last year after a citizen pointed out that OCTD was virtually the only urban transit agency in the state without it. Stanton said that he hopes that the disabled eventually will be given the same break but that there was no discussion of how much this would cost OCTD in revenues.

OCTD board member William E. Farris argued that a nickel increase would be much fairer than a dime, but his position was rejected by the rest of the board, 3 to 1, with San Juan Capistrano Councilman Gary L. Hausdorfer absent.

Intercounty express bus service fares will increase 30 cents, from $2.70 to $3.

In Los Angeles, the basic fare is $1.10. In San Diego, it is $1.