HTN: NFTA Bags Rate Hikes

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority has officially put the brakes on a plan to hike fares in July. The NFTA increased fares by 25-cents at the beginning of the year and warned a second hike could be needed in the summer. However, the agency says cost-cutting measures have been successful in filling a seven-million-dollar budget gap.

HTN: NFTA Won't Hike Metro Fares Again

Good news for mass-transit commuters. The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority will not raise fares to two dollars on July 1st. The agency has been able to fill a projected seven-million dollar budget gap. On New Year's Day, fares were bumped from a-dollar-50 to a-dollar-75. At that time the Authority warned a second fare hike might be needed this summer.

HTN: Metro Ridership Rose Last Year

The NFTA says Metro Bus and Rail ridership was up by more than ten-percent in 2008. Officials say that meant more than two-and-a-half million extra people took to mass transit. The Authority credits the increase to higher gas prices and the tight economy. Fares went up by 25-cents from a dollar-50 to a dollar-75 on New Year's Day.

HTN: Metro Hikes Mean Higher School Costs

The Buffalo School District is getting hit with an additional half-million-dollar in bussing fees because of the fare hikes on Metro Bus and Rails. That added expense wasn't provided for in the current budget, so school officials have worked out a deal with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to pay the money next year. The city relies on public busses to transport more than eleven-thousand kids to school each day. Over the course of a full school year the fare hikes will cost the school district more than one-million dollars per year.

Committees Approve Metro Fare Hike

The wheels are now in motion for commuters to pay more for Metro Bus and Rail fares. Two Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority committees have recommend a 25-cent boost in the base fare effective January 1st. That would bump the cost from a dollar-fifty to a dollar-seventy-five. The plan also would include another 25-cent raise in July, if budget gaps are not filled by then. The full Authority will vote on the matter on Monday.

HTN: No More Free Ride on Downtown Rail?

There may not be a free ride much longer on Metro Rail's downtown section. The NFTA is considering implementing a fare for the above-ground section that has been free since the line opened in 1986. Currently, riders who get on between Scott and Tupper Streets do not have to pay. But, the NFTA wants to change that because of a nine-million dollar budget gap. Riders on the rest of the line will be paying more as regulat bus and rail fares are expected to increase to a dollar-75 on January 1st. The NFTA is holding a heated meeting on the fare increase this hour.

NFTA Raising Fares, Rochester Dropped Them

A tale of two transit authorities. The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority says it didn't want to raise fares, but as it faces a possible 16-million dollars in revenue losses, a fare hike looks to be the only way out. A pair of 25-cent increases will take effect in 2009, raising the cost of a MetroBus or MetroRail ride to two-dollars. The Rochester Regional Transit System, however, is taking the opposite approach. It has lowered fares to just a dollar, and is attracting more riders.

NFTA Fare Hikes Coming?

The NFTA board votes today on fare hikes for Metro Bus and rail riders. If approved, the cost of a one-way trip would rise from 1-50 to 1-75, starting January 1st. Officials say ridership is up, largely because of the cost of gas, but the increases are stil needed to close a three-million dollar budget gap.

NFTA Considering Fare Hikes

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is considering a 25-cent jump in bus and rail fares to cover rising costs. That would push a bus ride from a-dollar-50 for a one-way ride to a-buck-75. The NFTA says that ridership is at an all time high but fare increases are needed for growing demand. While the NFTA is going to one-75, just earlier this month the bus company that serves the Rochester-area, the RGRTA, lowered their fares from a-dollar-25 down to a dollar.

Bus Ride Could Cost More

The NFTA is considering a hike in fares to cover rising fuel costs. An increase would push up the cost of a Metro Bus or Rail ticket from $1.50 to $1.75. The extra cost is being propsed despite the fact that Metro Bus and Rail ridership is at an all-time high.

NFTA Says Dump the Pump

Today is the day to "Dump the Pump" and ride a bus or train. About 125 public transportation systems around the country are holding special promotions today to increase ridership, including the NFTA. Public Affairs Director Doug Hartmeyer spoke with Donahue and Moore this morning on WECK.