Council Wants More Time To Discuss Bus Fare Hike

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit City Council has put the brakes on a plan to increase city bus fare.

City Council President pro tem Gary Brown questioned whether there had been adequate public notice about the hearing discussing the hike.

Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) staffers said they did what was required by law, and any additional postings about the fair hike would come later.

Brown said later would be too late.

"After we've voted, it's kind of hard for the public to weigh in on an increase if, in fact, they weren't notified about it," he said.

The proposed plan from DDOT called for the cost of the monthly regional bus pass to increase by $20 -- going from $49.50 to $69.50.

Pattie Fedewa,with Transportation Riders United, spoke during Tuesday's hearing.

"Sixty-nine-fifty is far too high when you consider that SMART had an increase of 30 percent, and all of a sudden the proposed regional fare would be an increase of 40 percent. It just doesn't make sense," Fedewa said.

Also sounding off was Lisa Franklin, president and founder of Warriors on Wheels, an advocacy group for wheelchair users.

"For them to go up twenty dollar per person on a fare for the whole month is ridiculous, but the thing that bothers me is that they tried to do it...without letting the public know that they were gonna do it," she said.

Council has decided to continue public hearings on the proposed fare hike in two weeks.