(The following article by Kelly Hannon was posted the Free Lance Star website on January 14.)
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Railway Express riders could pay more for their daily commute beginning in July.
VRE’s $62.8 million budget proposal for fiscal 2007 includes a 6 percent increase in ticket prices. It also asks for an extra $1.9 million in subsidies from member communities, including Stafford County and Fredericksburg.
Both requests could cause waves. Ticket-price increases last year drew angry passengers to public hearings, and Stafford protested its higher subsidy.
Steve Dunham, chairman of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons, would like to see the participating localities chip in a greater percentage of funding to run the commuter train.
Higher fares probably will generate complaints, he said, but he doesn’t expect them to chase off too many riders.
“Traffic is bad enough and driving is expensive enough I think that VRE will have no trouble filling the trains,” Dunham said.
Elected officials in Stafford were angry last year that Spotsylvania County, where a substantial number of riders live, pays nothing to the service.
But Spotsylvania has begun talks to potentially join. If it does, fare and subsidy hikes could be lower in the future because they’d be spread out across a larger pool of members.
VRE’s budget proposal is an opening salvo to months of debate between VRE, localities, two transportation commissions and the public over fares and fees.
The fiscal year begins July 1. A final budget is typically passed in May, said Mark Roeber, VRE spokesman. Public hearings must be held before any fare increase.
“It’s a matter of what type of response we get back and what we hear from the jurisdictions,” Roeber said.
Sometimes, localities are willing to take on more of a financial burden to limit ticket price increases. Other years, localities want passengers to shoulder the costs.
VRE included a fare increase in its budget to keep pace with its expenses, which rose $5 million last year–a 14 percent jump.
Diesel fuel prices remain high, and VRE’s insurance costs are rising, Roeber said. At the same time, Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern are charging VRE 4 percent more to access the rails next year.
VRE tickets have steadily become more expensive over the past three years. Last year, ticket prices rose by an average 2.75 percent. In fiscal 2005, prices rose an average of 6 percent, and the previous year, by 4 percent.
A 6 percent increase this summer would push the cost of a monthly trip ticket from the Fredericksburg station to L’Enfant Plaza and Union Station in Washington from $230.60 to $244.50. Riders leaving from Leeland Road, Brooke and Quantico stations would pay slightly less.
VRE’s ridership remains faithful, and is growing. Projections show daily ridership on its two lines, Fredericksburg and Manassas, will expand from an average 15,600 daily passengers to 17,400 by summer 2007.
Ridership was down by 50 percent last Friday, the day after three cars and a locomotive engine derailed just north of Quantico Marine Corps Base during the morning commute. Three passengers and one crew member sustained minor injuries.
But ridership returned to normal levels this week. There were about 7,600 riders on the Fredericksburg line Tuesday, which is typical for that day, Roeber said.
State and federal money will cover a sizable chunk of VRE’s proposed budget. The state is expected to contribute $10.2 million, and the budget includes $18.5 million in federal money.
But fares raise the most money for the railway–$24.8 million is anticipated in 2007. Local subsidies would provide $8.8 million under the proposed budget.
If that budget is approved, Fredericksburg would pay $111,115 in subsidies, a $37,288 increase from last year. Stafford’s being asked to pay $917,147–$217,723 more.
Subsidies are based on a locality’s population and number of VRE riders.
Spotsylvania is in discussions with VRE about becoming a member, said Hap Connors, chairman of the county’s Board of Supervisors. A contract could be brought before supervisors as early as this spring, he said.
A bond referendum approved by 60 percent of Spotsylvania voters in November includes $13 million for a VRE station. VRE estimates that more than 800 Spotsylvania residents ride the train daily, even though they must drive to Fredericksburg or Stafford to catch it.
If Spotsylvania and Fauquier, another nonmember, were to join VRE, other localities would pay lower subsidies. According to VRE calculations, Stafford’s subsidy next year would be $758,760–$158,387 less. Fredericksburg’s subsidy would be reduced by $27,157.
Connors says membership would have benefits to Spotsylvania beyond bringing VRE service closer to its residents.
Member communities are allowed to levy a 2 percent local gas tax, money Spotsylvania has been missing out on since the VRE was founded in 1992, Connors said.
“We basically lost about $25 million over the last 15 years that we could’ve spent on transportation projects,” he said.
Stafford and Fredericksburg levy the tax, and Connors noted that it hasn’t inflated gas prices. He said he typically finds the cheapest gas in the area at Sheetz in Fredericksburg.
“It’s a new revenue stream which we currently don’t have,” Connors said.