Nearly 150 bus riders and transit advocates mobilized on Thursday — during the coldest night of the winter so far — at the Westchester County Center in White Plains to express frustration at the County’s plan to increase fares on Bee-Line, the Westchester bus system. Most of the riders indeed rode buses to the hearing on the frigid evening.

Most told Westchester transportation officials that the proposed fares are too high and expressed outrage at the prospect of paying more but receiving no service improvements in return.

The fare increase is proposed to make up for the $4.3 million in Bee-Line operating budget cuts imposed in Westchester’s budget. An earlier plan to cut service on many Bee-Line routes met strong opposition and was traded for a heavy fare increase in December deliberations by the county legislature and County Executive Andrew Spano.

Under the proposed fare plan, one-way fares would increase 25%, to $1.75. The cost of "Bargain Book" and "Monthly Passport" fare packages would go up 40% and 50%, respectively. The last Bee-Line fare hike, in 1996, was only a 12% increase.

Many riders used the hearing to vent frustration about Bee-line service, calling it "infrequent", "crowded," and "mismanaged." They were especially concerned that current schedules do not create convenient links to other transportation modes, like Metro-North trains.

Bus riders, civic groups and transportation advocates have appealed to Westchester County Executive Andy Spano to find alternatives to the fare hike. They have also asked state legislators whether they can find any funds in Albany to reduce or eliminate the increase. This week, both State Senator Nicholas Spano of Yonkers and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky of Greenburgh and Mt. Pleasant told the Journal News they would do what they could to find more state money.

Brodsky made his pledge in spite of disagreement with county budget policy. "They have the money to keep the fare as it is," he told the Journal News. "Unfortunately, the county is using bus fares and a whole array of social services as pieces in a chess match about their desire to raise taxes," he said.

Assuming the fare hike would reduce annual ridership by 2.3 million (according to Westchester DOT), the fare increase is expected to raise $4.7 million, or $400,000 more than Bee-Line needs to fill its gap, said Bill Leverence, director of fiscal operations for the county’s DOT. If ridership declined by less than 2.3 million, then the fare hike would raise even more money, which may end up going to county coffers, rather than to better Bee-Line service. In other words, the county may be asking Bee-Line riders to help balance the County budget.

County Executive Spano did not appear or send a representative to Thursday’s hearing.

County transportation commissioner Larry Sally expressed concern that "one-shot deals" from the state, such as high levels of aid in Governor Pataki’s pre-election budget, are not effective in balancing the department’s budget over the longer term.

Members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 distributed thousands of flyers sponsored by the union and the Tri-State Campaign on Westchester buses last week, alerting them to Thursday’s hearing and urging protest calls to County Executive Spano.

If implemented, the new bus fares would take effect March 3rd.

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