MTA TO RAISE RATES ON BUS, TRAIN PASSES HIKE TO PAY FOR RISING COSTS OF RUNNING TRANSIT NETWORK.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

After having endured a five-week transit strike this fall, MTA bus and train riders now face a $10-a-month pass hike and other fare changes under a previously approved plan that takes effect on Jan. 1.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's fares have held steady for nearly a decade, but the board of directors approved new rates last spring over protests from bus riders.

The agency hopes the changes will bring in $40 million annually to help cover an operations shortfall.

However, before the new fares begin, all MTA buses and trains will run for free - from 9 tonight until 2 a.m. Thursday for trains and until 5 a.m. for buses.

``We hope that people will understand it does cost much more to provide the services we provide. Having held out for so many years we simply got to the point where we had no choice but to raise the passes,'' said MTA spokesman Ed Scannell.

``Out of this is coming a simpler system and a much more convenient system than what has existed before.''

Dozens of bus riders, primarily members of the Bus Riders Union, protested the new fares during public hearings last spring, saying working- class riders could not afford to pay more.

However, longtime San Fernando Valley transit advocate Bart Reed said the higher rates are better than the alternative - cutting service.

``The reality here is, if the authority isn't bringing in money to pay the bills, the draconian cut to me is they're going to come back and cut service,'' said Reed, a bus and train rider and member of the MTA's Valley advisory council.

``Do I want to see the prices increase? No. But I need the service so we can help the people who need it.''

The fare hikes come after more than 400,000 riders were stranded this fall when the MTA's mechanics went on strike to preserve generous health benefits, shutting down bus and train lines for more than a month when the MTA's other unions honored the picket lines.

The strike ended after the two sides agreed to turn over the unresolved health care issue to an arbitration panel.

The fare hikes had been approved in May as the board began considering this year's budget. MTA Chief Executive Roger Snoble has said the agency can no longer afford to keep operating in the red, as it has for a decade.

The agency faces cutbacks from the state, and officials said it has been spending more than $100 million a year to bring on new buses under the consent decree, which was agreed to after the Bus Riders Union filed a lawsuit claiming bus lines are overcrowded.

Officials further press that cash fares have not been raised since 1995, and the $42 bus pass has held steady since 1989.

With the new rates, a round-trip bus ride for those paying cash will drop from $2.70 to $2.50.

For those who need a 25-cent transfer each way, as many in the Valley do, that round-trip ride would have cost $3.20, but now transfers will no longer be available. Riders will need to buy either $3 unlimited-use day passes - which will be available on buses - or they'll each have to pay another $1.25 every time they board.

Reed noted other agencies have also been raising rates or cutting service.

New York City Transit raised its prices to $2 in May, and to $70 for monthly passes, while San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit will see its rates go up 10 percent on Jan. 1.

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

NEW FARES

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is implementing the following fare changes on Jan. 1. For information, go to www.metro.net or call (800) COMMUTE.

--Standard monthly passes will increase from $42 to $52.

--One-way cash trips will decrease from $1.35 to $1.25.

--A one-day pass allowing unlimited rides will debut at $3; the price will be $1.50 for senior citizens and the disabled.

--The 25-cent transfers will be eliminated. Those taking two or more buses will have to pay the cash fares or get a day pass.

--Bundles of 10 tokens, with each piece good for a one-way trip, will increase in price from 90 cents to $1.10 per token.

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NEW FARES (see text)