As members of the city’s Multi-Modal Advisory Board, we would like to address the comments regarding the city’s Trolley service in Herald’s June 11 editorial.
By implementing the $1 fare for the Trolley and Loop Bus, the city is ensuring and achieving its vision of mobility and safety for all users.
Using a middle-school child as an example: A student purchases an annual pass for $30. Assume the student attends the 163 state-required school days, traveling to and from school on the Trolley totaling 326 trips/$30 = $.09/trip! Moreover, students may travel around town on the Trolley and Loop Buses anytime, including weekends and summers. That’s affordable mobility!
There are numerous free and reduced-price programs available, including for low-income adults and youths, seniors and disabled riders, as well as reduced-price day passes (45 cents) for clients of human-service agencies.
Several factors are responsible for the reduced ridership numbers since the $1 fare began. Even when the Trolley was free, ridership numbers were on the decline. The largest factor for the decrease is when the Trolley was free, numbers were artificially inflated by those using the Trolley as a shelter and not as a mode of transportation. Riders are required to exit the bus at the end of the route, and when they get back on, they are included in the ridership numbers again. Because of this, a 50 percent decrease in ridership numbers was anticipated; however, the decline has only been 35 percent.
The $1 fare has reduced the number of riders who were abusing the system and displaying inappropriate behavior. Previously, drivers and riders sometimes felt that their safety might be in jeopardy. Drivers were threatened when they requested that riders displaying inappropriate behavior leave or not board the bus; parents were not comfortable allowing children to ride the Trolley alone because of safety concerns. That has changed.
We support the $1 fare for the Trolley based on the discussion above and for many other well-reasoned, logical and fair reasons.
Kim Baxter, Jennifer Wrenn, David Steele and Julie Popp
Multi-Modal Advisory Board
Durango
