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RTA is facing a $7 million budget shortfall and expects to shore up most of that deficit through fare increases and service cuts. (Photo: Ginger Christ)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority will raise rates on fares and reduce service by 3 percent, beginning in August.

During a special meeting Tuesday, the RTA board voted to increase rates on all fares, a move it expects will generate an additional $3 million in revenue for the cash-strapped authority.

RTA is facing a $7 million budget shortfall and expects to shore up at least $6 million of that deficit through the fare increases and through service cuts it estimates will save $3 million.

The fare increases are the first by the authority in seven years.

"This decision is not easy," Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough said. "We recognize that we can't meet the needs of everybody."

RTA expects to make up the remaining $1 million shortfall through "better management," RTA CEO Joe Calabrese said. That involves the authority's recent bond refinancing that saved $800,000.

The fare increases are:

ADA

ADA-certified customers will pay senior/disabled/ADA rate on regular service. The current $1 rate will increase to $1.25 in August and $1.35 in 2018.

Personal care attendants will continue to ride for free on Paratransit, but will pay regular fare on buses, trains and BRT.

Single-Ride Cash Fares

The Bus/Rapid/BRT rate will increase from $2.25 to $2.50 in August and $2.75 in August 2018.

The senior/disabled rate will increase from $1 to $1.25 in August and $1.35 in August 2018.

The Park-N-Ride bus rate will increase from $2.50 to $2.75 in August 2016 and $3.25 in August 2018.

The K-12 student rate will increase from $1.50 to $1.75 in August 2016 and $2 in August 2018.

The out-of-county rate will increase from $3.50 to $3.75 in August and $4.25 in August 2018.

Tickets/Fare Cards

The Bus/Rapid/BRT five-trip rate will increase from $11.25 to $12.50 in August and $13.75 in August 2018.

The senior/disabled five-trip rate will increase from $5 to $6.25 in August and $6.75 in August 2018.

The K-12 student five-strip rate will increase from $7.50 to $8.75 in August and $10 in August 2018.

Unlimited Ride All-Day Passes

The Bus/Rapid/BRT/PNR all-day rate will increase from $5 to $5.50 in August and $6 in August 2018.

The senior/disabled all-day rate and the accompanied children all-day rate will increase from $2.50 to $2.75 in August and $3 in August 2018.

The K-12 student all-day rate will increase from $4 to $4.50 in August and $5 in August 2018.

Seven-Day Passes

The Bus/Rapid/BRT rate will increase from $22.50 to $25 in August and $27.50 in August 2018.

The senior/disabled rate will increase from $10 to $12.50 in August and $13.50 in August 2018.

The Park-N-Ride rate will increase from $25 to $27.50 in August and $32.50 in August 2018.

Monthly Passes

The Bus/Rapid/BRT rate will increase from $85 to $95 in August and $105 in August 2018.

The senior/disabled rate will increase from $38 to $48 in August and $53 in August 2018.

The Park-N-Ride rate will increase from $95 to $105 in August and $120 in August 2018.

Paratransit Fares

The single-ride fare will increase from 25 cents each year through August 2019.

The all-day pass fare will increase 50 cents each year through August 2019.

The seven-day pass fare will increase $2.50 each year through August 2019.

The monthly fare will increase $5 each year through August 2019.

While the exact service cuts are not set in stone, the changes will very closely resemble the proposals RTA shared in April with some adjustments to the hours of service on some routes such as the No. 81.

"The plan we put out on service is the best plan we think we can put out," Calabrese said. "There will be a lot of tweaking over the next few months."

Under the service plan, 1 percent of riders will be impacted and 1/10 of 1 percent of all riders will lose access.

The service changes call for the discontinuation of portions of bus routes and entire bus routes and reductions in the span of services:

Discontinuation of bus routes

No. 43 - Lake-Wolf

No. 79A - Fulton: Retain limited rush hour service

No. 239 - Euclid Park-N-Ride: Add a 39F branch

No. 751 - North Olmsted High School-Stearns/Porter

No. 752 - North Olmsted High School-Columbia/Clague

No. 761 - Maple Heights School

No. 68 - Bagley: A portion of No. 68 to be serviced by realigning the weekday daytime No. 86 - Rocky River Drive-Berea

Discontinuation of portion of bus routes

No. 7 - Monticello-Euclid Heights: Discontinue limited service east of Richmond Town Square; retain some trips, but none via Alpha-Beta

No. 32 - Cedar: Discontinue service east of Montefiore to Ursuline College

No. 34 - E. 200-Green: Discontinue service south of Green Road Rapid Station

No. 37 - E. 185-Taylor: Discontinue service south of Severance Town Center

No. 45 - Ridge: Discontinue limited service from Tri-C West to North Royalton Loop

No. 78 - W. 117-Puritas: Discontinue NASA deviation; discontinue Bellaire Gardens (Wanda Ave.) deviation

No. 81 - Tremont-Storer: Reduce service to Lakeview Terrace and Tremont Pointe deviations. Details TBD.

No. 86 - Rocky River Drive-Berea: Discontinue service south of Bagley Road

Reduction in span of service

Waterfront line: Discontinue evening service (after about 7 p.m.), except on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer; reduce rush hour weekday service to every 15 minutes and mid-day service to every 30 minutes

Green line: Discontinue evening service (start last round trip at 9 p.m.)

No. 8 - Cedar-E. 116: Discontinue service after 9 p.m.

No. 77F - Brecksville: Reduce Sunday service to every 90 minutes

No. 86 - Rocky River Drive-Berea: Discontinue weekday evening and Sunday service; reduce Saturday service to daytime only through new alignment via Bagley Road

Calabrese also suggested plans to develop a van pool service as well as a pilot shared mobility service.

Under the van-pool program, for which RTA last year added $100,000 to its budget, employers, employees and RTA would share operating costs. Calabrese expects to bring a resolution before the board to hire a van pool coordinator possibly as early as next month.

"We can prioritize those van pools for any employer that may be negatively affected by the cuts we're talking about today," Calabrese said. "Really, it is a way to provide service to them at a very, very minimal cost."

The pilot shared mobility program would provide ADA riders with vouchers or subsidies for using taxis or services like Lyft or Uber to get to RTA stations. Calabrese plans to ask the board for $25,000 to launch the program, which he says could help the authority save money on Paratransit services.