Bus Service Cuts, Boost in Fares Urged : Santa Clarita: The measures are proposed to deal with an $810,000 shortfall brought on by lower county sales-tax revenues.

Santa Clarita transit officials are proposing to reduce bus service and increase commuter fares to compensate for a recession-caused shortage of tax revenues.

Under the proposal before the City Council tonight, morning bus service would begin an hour later, the debut of commuter bus service to Century City would be delayed until April and the price of a commuter bus ticket would go up 13.3%, from $75 to $85 per month.

The changes are necessary because the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission has cut Santa Clarita’s $3.5-million allocation by $810,000, said Mike Prior, the city’s transportation manager.

The county agency’s revenues, which come from voter-approved sales taxes, are about 20% lower than anticipated because consumers are spending less, Prior said.

If the council approves the changes, the new fees would go into effect Feb. 1. The fare increases would affect about 400 commuters who take the bus to Los Angeles or are expected to use the Century City service, Prior said.

Santa Clarita residents would still pay less for commuter bus service than residents of Lancaster and Pasadena, who pay $140 and $102, respectively, he said.

Only 15 people who now ride the bus early in the morning would be affected by beginning local service at 5:45 a.m. instead of 4:45 a.m., Prior said.

“Our other 1,800 riders won’t be affected,” he said.

The reduction in service and increase in fares offset the shortfall by only $109,300, according to a city report.

To help make up for the rest, the city will spend $160,700 in transit funds it has in reserve.

The city will also have to use general fund revenues to compensate for the remaining $540,000 shortfall. However, the city will only have to spend about 65% of that because it will be able to purchase transit funds at a discount from other Los Angeles County cities that do not want them, but are prohibited from using them for non-transportation purposes, Prior said. The funds are allocated by the county commission on the basis of population, he said.