AC Transit Board Bows to Community Pressure: Fare Hike Delayed

AC Transit’s Board unanimously voted to postpone a fare hike until after November’s elections on June 11, 2008. They also unanimously approved a staff recommendation to place a parcel tax on the November ballot (details below).

Your phone calls, rallies, and public comment worked!

AC TRANSIT HAS NOT GUARANTEED THAT IT WON’T RAISE FARES (even if the parcel tax passes in November).

We must secure a commitment from AC Transit to keeping youth and senior/disabled fares low if the parcel tax passes.

The public’s support was essential for the passage of a similar parcel tax in 2002 and again in 2004. At those times, AC Transit pledged to keep youth and senior/disabled fares low if the measures passed.

We must secure this pledge again and then work to pass the parcel tax.

If you’re interested in holding AC Transit accountable to its riders and helping to pass the parcel tax (or find other funding solutions), please contact Lindsay Imai 510-844-1191 or Lindsay(at)urbanhabitat.org. We are preparing for for the June 25th AC Transit Board meeting where the parcel tax ballot language will be finalized. If you want to

PARCEL TAX PROPOSAL:

AC Transit’s proposal would extend the existing $4/month parcel tax and add another $3 or $4/month per parcel tax on top of that. If passed, the tax would sunset in 10 years (2018). The tax would only apply to the parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties where AC Transit provides service. The total cost per parcel would be less than $100/year for each property owner.

What is a Parcel Tax? A parcel is any designated area of land that does not include a highway. For example, a house and yard represent one parcel. Local governments can charge taxes against each parcel as one method of recovering its costs. (definition from the Local Government Department)