As transit officials in San Diego County stare down a hefty budget deficit, they’re weighing fare change proposals to close the fiscal gap, including adopting an aggressive option that could charge local transit riders the costliest single-trip fare in the state.
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System faces a roughly $500 million funding gap over the next four years, but it’s not due to diminishing services. Regional riders are enthusiastic about the transit system — it has one of the fastest growing riderships in the country and ranks third for the number of passenger trips and passenger miles in California. However, like other major transit agencies such as BART, the MTS kept things moving after the pandemic through one-time emergency funds from federal and state subsidies.
With those funds starting to dry up, the MTS is looking to its riders to help shoulder the cost by adopting its first official fare hike since 2009…