Though the strike is over, Sun Tran passengers aren't in the clear yet. Haggling over contracts between the city of Tucson and the Regional Transportation Authority means the price to ride is likely to go up.
Tucson City Manager Mike Letcher is asking the City Council for permission to begin a process that would raise fares on Sun Tran buses and Sun Van transportation for the disabled. The increase would go toward covering a $3.7 million reduction in funding to the city by the RTA.
Negotiations to bring that number down are ongoing, but Letcher said the city is still going to be out a substantial amount of money.
"Because of the RTA's decision to question the rates we've been charging for the last four years, yes, there will be an increase," Letcher said. How much that increase will be depends on what kind of arrangement the city and the RTA can reach.
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In 2006, voters approved the expansion of Sun Tran and Sun Van services. Initial contracts between the city and the RTA netted the city more than $8 million annually.
Those contracts expired at the end of June. When the contracts ran out, the RTA board voted to reduce the city's funding to $4.3 million this year, creating a $3.7 million hole.
Letcher said negotiations are going well, and it seems likely that the city won't be facing the full $3.7 million shortfall. But there still is going to be something to make up, and fare increases and potential changes to Sun Tran routes, including the possibility of cutting some routes, are possible places that money will come from.
"We're probably 30 days away from finding out the exact amount," Letcher said. "We know that it's going to be less (than the $3.7 million). We're asking for them to be fair with us."
The process of raising Sun Tran fares requires the city to hold a public hearing on the issue and to publish two notices of the hearing starting 30 days in advance of the hearing. That is the process Letcher is requesting permission to begin.
In 2009, regular Sun Tran fares increased to $1.25 from $1, and Sun Van fares went from $2 to $2.50. Letcher said the amount fares go up this time depends on how negotiations with the RTA go. The city has estimated an increase of 25 cents to the current fare would generate about $1.9 million annually.
A lot depends on those negotiations. Along with how much riders will pay in the future, the possibility of another union strike that could shut down the transit system is tied to what the city and the RTA can work out.
If the amount paid by the city comes out too high, Letcher acknowledged that routes could be cut, which could mean layoffs and the possibility that Teamsters Local 104 - which represents Sun Tran drivers, mechanics and other employees - could go on strike again after only five days of negotiations.
Last month a breakdown in contract talks between the city and the company that runs Sun Tran led to a weeklong strike by the union and brought public transit in the city to a standstill. Transferring control of Sun Tran to the RTA was the key issue in that dispute.
With the amount of a fare increase dependent on the RTA board, "my hope," Letcher said, "is that they do the right thing."
Contact reporter Clayton R. Norman at cnorman@azstarnet.com or 573-4142.
