=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2003/04= /25/BA29536.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, April 25, 2003 (SF Chronicle) BART to discuss 10% fare increase/Public hearing as board moves to adopt bu= dget Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer A proposed 10 percent fare increase for BART riders will be a topic of discussion at a public hearing May 22, officials said Thursday as they grappled with the transit agency's budget. That will allow members of the public to voice their thoughts on the matter before BART's board of directors adopts a budget by late June for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The proposed spending plan calls for a fare increase of up to 10 percent but no cuts in service, said BART spokesman Mike Healy. "The goal is not to erode service, that is, to maintain service without any cuts in service," Healy said. A 10 percent increase would generate an estimated $7.6 million in revenue in the proposed $460 million budget, according to BART figures released Thursday. BART fares have fallen behind the consumer price index since 1997, when the last of three annual fare increases totaling 45 percent was levied. That was the only fare increase until January, when fares went up 5 percent as part of a budget-balancing plan. Several directors have said they would back a plan that calls for small, regular fare increases -- tied to increased operating costs -- to be assessed every two or three years. A 10 percent fare boost would push the price of a trip to downtown San Francisco from Pittsburg/Bay Point station from $4.55 to $5; from Walnut Creek from $3.60 to $3.95; from Dublin/Pleasanton from $4.25 to $4.65; and from San Leandro from $3.10 to $3.40. The board will also consider eliminating 126 jobs -- although only 28 employees would face layoffs -- under the proposed budget. Most of the jobs would be lost through attrition or through transfer to the San Francisco International Airport extension, expected to open June 22, the second day of summer. . The public hearing will be at 9 a.m. May 22 in the board room at BART headquarters above the Lake Merritt BART station, 800 Madison St., Oakland, CA 94604. E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 SF Chronicle