CHAIRMAN COVINGTON AND THE VRE OPERATIONS BOARD

Transcription

1 AGENDA ITEM 10-A ACTION ITEM TO: FROM: CHAIRMAN COVINGTON AND THE VRE OPERATIONS BOARD DALE ZEHNER DATE: APRIL 20, 2012 RE: AUTHORIZATION TO MODIFY VRE S FARES RECOMMENDATION: The VRE Operations Board is being asked to authorize the Chief Executive Officer to amend VRE s tariff to increase fares by 3% beginning July 1, 2012, without any change to the current ticket discount structure. The VRE Operations Board is also being asked to authorize the Chief Executive Officer to revise the tariff to reflect recent changes to the regional SmartBenefit program. BACKGROUND: During the FY 2013 budget process, the VRE Operations Board authorized a fare increase of up to 3% to offset increases in fuel, retail sales commissions, facilities maintenance, and annual contract escalations. VRE staff proposed an across the board increase of up to 3% without any change to the current ticket discount structure. On February 17, 2012, the Operations Board authorized public hearings in Washington, D.C, Crystal City, Burke, Woodbridge, Manassas, Stafford and Fredericksburg. The public comment period began on February 27, 2012 and ran through April 6, Comments were received via and through public hearings. Thirtyfour s were received during the process and 29 people attended the hearings (5 Fredericksburg, 6 L Enfant, 3 PRTC, 12 Manassas, 3 Crystal City, 0 Burke, and 0 Stafford). For the first time in VRE history, hearings were held in which no one attended.

2 In addition to comments regarding the change in fares, passengers also took the opportunity to relay opinions regarding their satisfaction with VRE service and ontime performance, ask questions about mid-day trains and turn-back trains, and advocate additional service/capacity. A summary of the comments received is shown below: Summary of Comments Number of Comments Commented that the need to increase fares was understandable 16 Negative comments on proposed increased fare 25 On-time performance, Service or Capacity needs to improve 11 Associating Opposition to Fare Increase with Transit Subsidy Decrease and Pay Freezes Note: Summary of comments here do not equate to the total number of people who attended the hearings and/or submitted s. Not all citizens who attended hearings made comments and some who made comments by touched upon more than one topic. After reviewing the comments, VRE is recommending that fares be increased 3%. Reduced fares for seniors and persons with disabilities have also been recalculated per federal requirements. A change is not being recommended to the existing ticket discount structure. Revised fare tables are attached. An administrative amendment to the tariff is also being recommended. This proposed amendment is shown below. No public hearing was required on this specific amendment as it is administrative in nature and simply updating the tariff to reflect current practices. VRE no longer accepts SmartBenefits Vouchers. Section of the tariff, ACCEPTANCE OF SMARTBENEFITS VOUCHERS should be amended, as follows, to reflect electronic benefits ACCEPTANCE OF ELECTRONIC SMARTBENEFITS VOUCHERS EMPLOYER SUBSIDIES Region wide electronic SmartBenefits Vouchers employer transit subsidy vouchers will be accepted by VRE vendors as full or partial payment. SmartBenefits Vouchers will be accepted for purchase of VRE tickets of equal or greater value. If the use of SmartBenefits Vouchers results in overpayment, no change can be given. 13 FISCAL IMPACT: It is anticipated that the fare increase will generate $900,000 in additional fare revenue in FY

3 TO: CHAIRMAN COVINGTON AND THE VRE OPERATIONS BOARD FROM: DALE ZEHNER DATE: APRIL 20, 2012 RE: AUTHORIZATION TO MODIFY VRE S FARES RESOLUTION 10A OF THE VIRGINIA RAILWAY EXPRESS OPERATIONS BOARD WHEREAS, as part of the FY 2013 VRE budget, VRE must increase revenue to cover increasing costs; and, WHEREAS, the VRE Operations Board authorized a fare increase of up to 3% on which public hearings were held; and, WHEREAS, passengers and interested parties commented via and in person at any one of the seven public hearings. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the Chief Executive Officer is authorized to amend VRE s tariff to increase fares by 3% beginning July 1, 2012, without any change to the current ticket discount structure; and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, the Chief Executive Officer is authorized to revise the tariff to reflect recent changes to the regional SmartBenefit program. 3

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