Yuba-Sutter to capital
commuter fares jump

Sac Bee excloo

MARYSVILLE 7/1/02 (YSN) - Yuba-Sutter Transit Authority riders commuting to Sacramento will see daily fares rise from $2.50 to $3, effective Aug. 1, transit officials said Monday.

Monthly discount passes will go from $85 to $100, and 20-ride punch cards from $50 to $60.

The hike, which is designed to raise about $43,400 over the next year, is the first since 1996, Transit Manager Keith Martin said.

"The new revenue will be used to provide expansions in service and to back-fill anticipated cuts in state funding," Martin said.

In the last two years ridership on the seven daily commuter trips from Yuba City and Marysville to Sacramento and back again have jumped 40 percent. To meet the demand two roundtrips and three buses were added, Martin said.

Martin attributed the sharp rise in bus riders to two factors: an environment-friendly commute pass subsidy offered to state employees, and an increasing number of Sacramentans relocating to Yuba-Sutter,

"Some who have made the decision to move here have cited the availability of commuter buses as a factor," Martin said.

Currently, about 175 riders make the daily trek between the capital and Yuba-Sutter, Martin said.