By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Today's (Monday) the day the cost of a bus or Metrolink ticket goes up in the St. Louis region.
Metro approved a fare hike in June that takes effect today. It now costs $1.65 to ride the bus and $1.75 for Metrolink. Both rides had cost $1.50.
"While we have done a lot to trim costs wherever we could to hold off and to minimize the impact on a rider, because we're paying twice as much now for diesel fuel as we did about a year ago, the rate increase was necessary," said Metro spokeswoman Dianne Williams. She added Metro workers were to be at some stops Monday morning to remind people of the fare hike.
POSSIBLE MONEY SAVER
But riders who make quick round trips will also save a little money, starting today.
Metro is also changing the way transfers work, by letting people use them from any point within two hours of buying the first ticket.
"A parent who uses public transportation - drops their child off at day care, and then gets on a different bus going a different direction - that would have been two individual fares," said Williams. "Now that parent can do it all for one fare, including a transfer."
This fare hike is the first of two that make up Metro's response to rising gas prices. The second fare hike will happen in a year.
|
Old fare |
New fare, starting 8/22 | Increased fare next year | |
| Metrolink (light rail) | $1.50 | $1.75 | $2.00 |
| MetroBus | $1.50 | $1.65 | $1.75 |