SAN GABRIEL VALLEY : RTD, Foothill Transit Extend Sharing of Passes

Temporarily setting aside a disagreement over how to split fare revenues, the Southern California Rapid Transit District and Foothill Transit Zone have agreed to continue sharing a single monthly pass for at least one more month.

Foothill Executive Director Roger Chapin said his San Gabriel Valley-based bus lines will continue honoring RTD passes through October, extending an agreement that had been scheduled to expire Sept. 30.

Meanwhile, the rival bus companies will continue negotiating how to split revenues from pass sales. Foothill currently receives 83.3% of the money from passes sold to Foothill riders; RTD keeps the rest because some Foothill riders also use their passes on RTD buses.

However the RTD contends it deserves a larger share because a recent survey found that Foothill riders use passes on RTD buses far more often than previously thought. The RTD also is seeking to make the new split retroactive and has asked Foothill to repay $222,600 from pass sales last year and at least $65,400 from this year. Foothill has so far refused.