By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis – The public's chance to comment on proposed fare increases for buses and Metrolink trains in the St. Louis area comes to an end Wednesday.
The Metro public transit system wants to raise fares from $1.25 to $1.50
The cost of monthly passes would also increase. Metro president Larry Salci says the moves are necessary to help avoid a six-million-dollar budget shortfall next year.
"We've been very aggressive in cutting costs," Salci said. "We've cut ten million out of our operating costs this year. We're going to cut another four million this year without having to cut service. But we do need a fare increase to balance the user cost with the total system cost."
If transit commissioners approve the increases, the fares would go into effect June 28th.