Sacramento’s public bus and light rail transportation system, Regional Transit, has recently announced a proposed fare increase effective July 1. Regional Transit claims to be in a two year financial deficit and aims to decrease this deficit by raising fares for everyone. The truth is that this fee hike will disproportionately and unfairly affect the poor and working class of Sacramento.
People are already upset about the transportation fees and have been speaking out prior to this announcement. In its defense, Regional Transit claims that they haven’t increased fares since 2009 and that they have a projected future loss of money if it doesn’t start raising fares. On February 5, Mike Wiley, the CEO/general manager for Regional Transit, hosted an online Q&A with the public regarding the proposed fare increase. The answer to many of the questions asked clearly reflected the thoughts of Regional Transit: All we care about is money. This dialogue between a Sacramento light rail rider and Wiley was posted to their public website:
[RT Rider questions]: “What are you doing to reduce the significant financial burden of low income and working class riders with the current fare prices and proposed fare prices? I’m sure you realize that these fares are ridiculously expensive, especially for those with limited income (hence the reason so many tickets are issued to riders who don’t pay fares).”
[RT Reply’s]: “Regional Transit is facing some financial burdens that must be addressed. The fare has not been increased in over seven years. The proposal presented on fare increase is the beginning of a dialogue we are going to have with ridership and amongst the Board on possible solutions for making the system sustainable. We have numerous open houses scheduled to get rider input on the fare increase and hope to see you at one of them.”
Regional Transit’s primary focus is not about the financial burden this fare increase would cause for working class people. Rather, the primary focus is on revenue and the new Golden 1 Center currently being built downtown, a project that many people in Sacramento are against.
Several RT users asked great questions about the proposed fare increase. One rider wanted to know why a 40 percent increase is proposed for the senior citizen fare rate. This is an astronomical increase when it’s known that senior citizens are one of the nation’s most vulnerable populations. Regional Transit basically told them that they should be grateful for any type of discount and that they don’t really care about how this fare hike affects them. This exchange regarding seniors was posted to the online forum:
[RT Rider questions]: “The senior rate is actually a 40% increase. ($50 to $70). Why are Seniors getting a bigger rate hike?”
[RT Reply’s]: “RT offers significant discounts for many reasons and user groups. These significant discounts which are often well above any required discount impact RT’s revenues and its service levels as well as its prices to other user groups. With significant consideration of transportation issues for senior, RT’s initial fare proposal would maintain a significant, and not required, discount for a monthly pass for seniors”
When directly asked about people avoiding paying the proposed fare increases because of how expensive it will be, again, Regional Transit shows that they do not care:
[RT Rider questions]: “With the fare increase there will inevitably be a higher rate of riders trying to avoid paying the fare due to it being too expensive for their budgets. What are the penalties for not paying fare on RT? What is the rate that those tickets are paid vs going overdue? And lastly, what are other ways that we can criminalize poor people for being poor?”
[RT Reply’s]: “The fare increase conversation is just starting and we want riders [sic] feedback on it. Having said that, fare evasion is part of the problem we are working on currently and have plans to significantly increase fare inspection. The money lost from fare evasion is partly to blame for the financial situation Regional Transit is facing. A ticket for fare evasion with court costs starts at around $150 dollars.”
Similar to stop and frisk policies used by the police, Regional Transit blames its deficit on poor people who can’t afford their already expensive fares and plans to fix the problem with even more policing on trains through fare inspection. This echoes of the goal of the City of Sacramento and Sacramento City Council (of which Regional Transit Chairman Jay Schenirer is a member) with their plan to increase revenue for the city and pay for the new arena by an increase in parking prices.
One of Regional Transit’s more recent tactics to catch fare evaders is to conduct what amounts to raids on certain trains. When the trains are stopped, people are not permitted to leave while police and RT agents board the train, checking tickets. At an RT meeting last fall, a member of the public reported on being caught in one of these raids and said it was a horrible experience.
Board member Linda Budge, who represents Rancho Cordova, welcomes the raids. At the January 11, 2016 RT meeting, Budge said she wanted to close the meeting with some good news – reporting on one of these recent raids in which several probation violators were apparently apprehended.
Periodic checks of passengers by RT fare inspectors are often accompanied by the police who create a hostile environment for riders, especially in communities of color.
These inspectors are primarily on the Blue Line, a train that runs through low-income communities of color. That RT has the goal of extra inspections points to the fact that Regional Transit does not care about low income communities and communities of color.
To make matters worse, when asked about broader bus and light rail service to low income communities and communities of color, communities who need service the most, Regional Transit reiterates a focus towards the building of Light Rail Station Golden 1 which will serve the new controversial NBA arena almost completed in downtown Sacramento.
[RT Rider questions]: “You have made numerous statements regarding not having any money to add service to bus routes during this GM Chat, however
you are planning on adding service to Rail, just for people riding to the Golden One Centre. Where does this rail money come from?”
[RT Rider questions]: “What new services will be provided to previously underserved communities with the money made from these fare increases?”
[RT Reply’s]: “The fare increases are intended to close a deficit in our projected budget and if there is anything left over, there are a number of options, including contributing to cash or capital reserves, safety/security, more cleaning, or service. But that is only if there is any money left over. The first priority is to close the deficit, and staff has also been directed to try to scale the fare increase back in scale or phase it in gradually, so it is probably unlikely that there would be new money for service expansion.
Regional Transit basically told low income and communities of color, which already need improved bus lines and schedules, that their needs are not as important as this new arena being built and that they should wait!
The City of Sacramento is not unique. It’s following a “business over people” model similar to other California cities. Sacramento’s politicians and capitalists fought hard to create a new arena downtown with the promise that this would create jobs and revenue for the people of the city. In reality, we have seen that the city has already put up millions in subsidies, the contracts are written completely in favor of the giant contractor companies, and there isn’t much in real projected returns for the people.
If RT is truly in a deficit, we should be demanding that the city and other municipalities allocate more money for these services. Instead of the millions that have been spent on millionaire subsidies, which stay in the pockets of a few local elites, we should be using that money for the good of the people of Sacramento, especially the most oppressed: poor people and people of color. In a society that truly cares about the needs of its people, the needs of its people come first over profits. We demand that RT not raise its fare prices!
