MTA to Study Raising Fares, Cutting Routes

To help close a severe budget shortfall, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority may consider increasing bus fares by as much as a third or canceling some underused bus routes beginning July 1, county transit planners say.

The planners said Wednesday that the basic bus fare could be raised to $1.50 from $1.10, weekend and holiday service could be reduced and bus lines that duplicate rail routes could be eliminated to bring down a combined $300-million operating and capital deficit projected for the next fiscal year.

In addition, the authority could significantly raise the price of monthly passes or introduce a fee schedule that takes advantage of prime riding hours with separate peak and off-peak fares.

“Some combination of fare increases and service cuts are inevitable if we are to balance our budget, as we are committed to do,” MTA Chief Executive Officer Franklin E. White said Wednesday in a prepared statement.

MTA officials stressed that no final combination of service cuts and fare increases has been determined. But the possibilities unveiled Wednesday provided the first glimpse of how the cash-strapped authority may shift fares and service levels to fulfill its financial responsibilities.

At its regular meeting Wednesday, the MTA board scheduled a public hearing on the contentious issue for 10 a.m. April 23 at the county Hall of Administration in Downtown Los Angeles.

Its announcement came on the heels of a plan released by the MTA last week to scale back some transit projects and eliminate more than 250 positions to shear $100 million from the anticipated shortfall in the agency’s $3.4-billion annual budget. The action could trigger as many as 200 layoffs.

Fares have remained static since 1988, when the Southern California Rapid Transit District increased them to $1.10 from 85 cents. The price of monthly passes has also held steady at $42. Officials are considering raising the price as high as $75 or abandoning passes altogether.

In another plan outlined Wednesday, the MTA could institute a graduated fee schedule with peak-period fares between $1.10 and $1.50, and off-peak fares ranging from 90 cents to $1.25.

In other action Wednesday, the MTA board unanimously awarded a $45-million contract for subway station construction to Tutor-Saliba-Perini, a partnership including two firms that have come under fire for defective tunnel work in sections of the Metro Red Line subway.

In February, a team of inspectors found defects along nearly two miles of tunnels between Union Station and Pershing Square, including thin walls and air pockets in the crowns of the structures. Although the specialists deemed the tunnels safe, the Tutor-Saliba Corp., based in Sylmar, agreed to make the necessary repairs and pay all related costs.

“We want to close the door and move on,” Ronald N. Tutor told the board Wednesday.

The new contract--one of eight Tutor-Saliba now holds for the second segment of the Red Line--involves construction of a station at Vermont Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. The firm’s contracts total $330 million, nearly half of the entire heavy-construction budget of $800 million.

In recommending Tutor-Saliba-Perini for the latest agreement, Edward McSpedon, president of the MTA’s Rail Construction Corp., told the board that the company has been doing an “entirely satisfactory” job with its current contracts. “Perfect no,” he said. “Satisfactory yes.”

MTA Director James Cragin said he would vote in favor of the firm but remained uncomfortable about its performance, saying he would watch the new projects very closely.