A San Diego Association of Governments committee voted Friday to increase fares to ride buses and trolleys managed by the Metropolitan Transit System and North County Transit.
The fare increases would begin Oct. 1, with the cost of a standard one-way trip on MTS rising from $2.50 to $3. A monthly pass will cost $85, up from $72.
There will be little relief for riders already struggling with San Diego’s high cost of living as the plan includes a second fare increase within a year, on Oct. 1, 2027.
Circulate Planning & Policy, a San Diego nonprofit, supported the increase to prevent service cuts.
“Making it more expensive to ride transit is never ideal, but this fare increase is necessary to maintain the levels of transit service that San Diego residents rely on,” said Aria Grossman, policy manager at Circulate Planning & Policy. “Raising fares was the only way to avoid reducing transit service, a trade off that transit riders time and time again say they prefer.”
SANDAG’s Board of Directors will consider ratifying the committee vote during the July 24 board meeting, according to a statement by the agency.
The fare increase was proposed by MTS and North County Transit to “help address their respective financial sustainability strategies,” according to a joint statement from the agencies.
For MTS, that means confronting a deficit that the agency, despite experiencing ridership gains, projects to reach $120.1 million by 2029.
Officials, however, are developing a Low-Income Fare Eligible (LIFE) program to maintain current costs for certain riders, including those enrolled in the CalFresh, Medi-Cal and CalWORKs benefit programs.
San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, in a statement, said he proposed a plan to freeze some fares because “no one should pretend fare increases are painless.” MTS staff presented an outline of the LIFE program Thursday.
The goal, he explained, “is about making sure the riders with the least to give are not asked to carry the heaviest burden.”
The last fare increase, in 2019, was the first since 2009. Officials said at the time that it was necessary because transit operating costs had climbed by more than 25% over the prior decade.
Both MTS and North County Transit were instructed by SANDAG to conduct a Transit Fare Change Study to consider multiple scenarios and estimate the impact an increase would have on riders.
The agencies reviewed the findings and provided input on the region’s Comprehensive Fare Ordinance at SANDAG’s Friday Transportation Committee meeting.
During the meeting, committee members also solicited public comments, with the majority of speakers opposing the fare increase. They said it would be a burden on already struggling low-income residents.
City Heights resident Eddie Reyes Navar recalls transit being a necessity for him and his mother as he took the bus and trolley for free to school, work and extracurricular activities that eventually helped get him into university.
He fears that with rates going up students and workers will be unable to get where they need go to.
“My story isn’t unique,” Reyes Navar said. “It reflects one of the many experiences that City Heights residents face – the public transit is a lifeline for us.”
