Return to story

VRE fares likely to rise

December 22, 2007 12:35 am

By KELLY HANNON

Virginia Railway Express fares may increase 3 percent starting in July.

The VRE Operations Board forwarded a $94 million budget containing a fare increase yesterday to the railway's two regional transportation commissions.

Commuter rail fares increased 6 percent this year, and lesser amounts in previous three years.

Dale Zehner, VRE's chief executive officer, opposed raising fares, given price increases in past years. He would like to see new passenger cars on line first, next October.

"I just don't think this is the right time based upon the troubles we had last year with the poorer service and the on-time. I'd like to get stabilized," Zehner said.

But ridership and on-time performance have rebounded. Fredericksburg Line trains arrived on schedule 88 percent of the time in November, the fourth consecutive month of on-time rates in the upper 80s.

Ridership across the system has grown 4.1 percent since November 2006.

Still, the railway's insurance, fuel and maintenance costs have increased from last year, Zehner said.

A VRE budget task force recommended that the board increase fares 3 percent to raise an additional $650,000 in fiscal 2009, which runs from next July to June 2009.

The board took the task force's recommendations.

"Just as local jurisdictions here are being forced to put in more dollars, we should, I think, be also looking to riders, at a frankly small rate, to be doing the same," said VRE Operations Board member Dana Kauffman of Fairfax County.

The VRE vote follows a contentious fare debate this fall at Metro, Washington's subway rail system.

Metro fare during peak travel time is rising 30 cents in January, but Metro went without a fare increase for four years.

To avoid unpredictable fare increases in future years, the VRE Operations Board voted to study how fare increases and decreases in the future could be linked to the rate of inflation, cost of living, or VRE's costs.

Under such a system, VRE riders would know to expect an annual increase or decrease in fares based on set guidelines.

A second, alternate VRE budget was passed yesterday without $25 million from a 2007 Virginia General Assembly transportation package, referred to as House Bill 3202.

VRE is expected to receive $25 million in funding through the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, which was included in House Bill 3202. The legislation passed this year was challenged and upheld at the Circuit Court level, but plaintiffs are appealing to the Virginia Supreme Court. The case will be heard Jan. 8 in Richmond.

"I would not make any assumptions on the 3202 money until the NVTA has determined what they want to do in terms of how they will allocate the money back to VRE," Zehner said.

If the larger budget is approved by the commissions, and additional funding from the NVTA comes through, VRE wants to add two trains to the schedule in January 2009. Riders have shown strong interest in a 10 a.m. train on the Manassas line and a 4:45 a.m. train on the Fredericksburg line, Zehner said.

VRE would have to negotiate the schedule with the companies that own the tracks, CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern.

In addition, a new evening train would leave Union Station around 8 p.m. on the Manassas Line. Buses would meet the train at Backlick Road to take Fredericksburg Line riders to their home stations by bus.

All VRE member communities, including Fredericksburg and Stafford, must approve their contribution to VRE by the end of May.

The contribution, called a subsidy, will vary depending on the fate of the $25 million from NVTA.

Without that funding, subsidies will be higher.

Fredericksburg will contribute $422,315 if the NVTA money is available. Stafford would be asked to give $2.6 million. Both counties levy a 2 percent gas tax to pay for these fees.

If there is no NVTA money, Fredericksburg is expected to contribute $511,002. Stafford's subsidy would rise to $3.1 million, which Stafford Supervisor Paul Milde said is very close to what the county collects from the 2 percent gas tax. That would leave nothing left over for county transportation projects.