Suffolk bus fares may rise 50 cents

Suffolk County Transit soon may go from boasting some of the cheapest bus fares in the region to some of the most expensive if a plan to hike fares on some buses to $2.50 is approved.

Faced with having to find $1 million in new bus revenue in its 2012 budget, the county is considering raising fares on buses by 50 cents. Fares on most county buses would climb from $1.50 to $2. And on the S92 and 10C -- two busy East End bus routes that already went up to $2 last year in order to pay for Sunday service -- routes would be raised to $2.50.

Kathleen Cunningham, head of Five Town Rural Transit, a group pressing for better East End bus and rail service, said back-to-back fare hikes totaling $1 "really hits East End riders unfairly.

"I don't know how they justify it," she said.

Michael Pitcher, spokesman for Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook), said some kind of fare hike is inevitable as the county looks to close a projected $135-million deficit and cover the cost of expected increases in bus vendor contracts next year.

"No one wants to see fares increase to that level. You're talking about people that have the least money to spend," Pitcher said. "In this financial mess that we're in, it's a matter of trying to spread the pain. But we're certainly trying to limit the pain for the people that least can afford it."

Legis. Jay Schneiderman (I-Sag Harbor), who oversees most matters involving Suffolk County Transit, said he is trying to come up with a plan to hold down the increase in the base fare to 25 cents. He said he would try to find revenue through internal efficiencies and changes to both the discounted fares for seniors and students and the cost of a transfer.

That would bring up the fare on most buses to $1.75 and to those running summer Sunday service to $2.25 -- the same as all MTA and Nassau buses, Schneiderman said.

Schneiderman had long called for a systemwide fare increase, but only to cover the cost of adding Sunday service on all lines. That plan is in jeopardy, though Schneiderman said he'd still like to poll riders about whether they would be willing to pay yet another fare hike in exchange for seven-day service.

"I had recognized a long time ago that there was room to raise the rates, but I had hoped it would be tied into Sunday service," Schneiderman said. "This messes up my effort . . . because it's the same 50 cents."

Ryan Lynch, spokesman for the nonprofit Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said his group does not necessarily oppose a fare hike in Suffolk, where the cost of a trip has been the same for 20 years. But he said Suffolk should look to phase in a hike, perhaps spreading it out over three years.

"Bus riders are the poorest of the poor in Suffolk County," Lynch said, noting Census figures that show Suffolk bus riders' annual salaries are $20,000 less on average than residents who use cars for regular transportation. "You can't do it in one fell swoop."

With Mitchell Freedman