By Patsha Ramsey
The Scene staff
St. Louis residents will pay more to ride Metro buses and MetroLink trains starting July 1.
The increase will affect transportation passes offered through colleges. Forest Park students will pay $175 instead of $150 for semester passes.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” said hospitality major T.L. Rogers, 63. “It’s just like driving a car. Prices go up. You have to do what you have to do to survive.”
Computer science major Chris Tanner, 34, had a different reaction.
“If Metro increases prices, they should also increase bus routes,” he said.
The Metro Transit board announced earlier this year that it was going to start implementing fare increases every two years.
“It’s to prevent large increases further down the road,” said Patti Beck, Metro director of communications.
Metro presented three options on structuring of fare increases and asked for public feedback through surveys and hearings.
The one-ride MetroLink fare will go from $2.25 to $2.50. Weekly bus and train passes will go from $25 to $27, and monthly passes will go from $72 to $78.
Fares that will remain the same include a bus ride at $2, two-hour pass/transfer at $3, a day pass at $7.50 and Call-a-Ride at $4.
“The transportation business is not a cheap,” Beck said. “Metro has to (generate $2.25 million a year) to keep up with expenses.”
Along with fare increases, Metro plans to replace cash machines on buses with a Smart Card system. Cards can be reloaded and reused like debit cards. Value is deducted every time a passenger swipes his card.
People will be able to purchase cards online and even transfer money from their bank accounts. Security bar codes will provide protection in cases of loss or theft.
The Smart Card might seem like cutting-edge technology, but St. Louis is late in making the change. Germany has been using such cards since the 1960s. New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have similar systems.
“The Smart Card is more convenient because it eliminates the use of loose money,” Beck said.
Metro plans to implement Smart Card technology for the MetroLink system, eliminating the use of transfer tickets completely. Beck declined to estimate when this will happen.
Smart Cards will be available at Schnucks supermarkets and the Metro store on Washington Avenue. Temporary passes for people who don’t frequently ride buses or trains will be available at MetroLink stations.
“I don’t think Smart Cards are convenient,” said Forest Park student Joseph Davis, 24, a physical therapy major. “I don’t live near a MetroLink or Schnucks.”