The Regional Transportation District Board of Directors voted 11-1 Tuesday night to boost basic fares to ride the agency’s buses and trains.

Only board member Paul Solano voted against the hikes.

The vote came despite pleas from advocates of low-income people to keep fares down.

One activist called the RTD’s bid to hike by more than 15 percent a basic one-way fare on a bus or train “shameful.” Another challenged the agency’s board of directors to back the poor and homeless and decline the fare hike.

“Denver is a hard, harsh place for working-class folk,” said the Rev. Anne Dunlap of United Church of Christ. “Don’t make life harder and harsher for poor folk. You have to choose which side you are on.”

Tuesday’s vote came one week after a study session in which the board backed the fare hike almost unanimously.

But as many as 40 people tried to sway the board to either vote against the increase or at least delay the vote. They said Denver is plagued by high rents, and low or stagnate wages.

Many working poor would lose their jobs under RTD’s new fare schedule, they said, because workers wouldn’t be able to afford a bus or rail pass.

Many argued for an income-based fare system, in which low-income people could pay less to ride mass transit.

“This fare increase is fundamentally unjust,” said Jackie Parkins. “Especially for those who work hard but can’t afford to live in this city.”

RTD’s current one-way, single-boarding cash fare for bus or rail service is $2.25. The new fare will be $2.60, a nearly 15.6 percent hike.

A monthly pass, now at $79, will go to $99.

The increases go into effect Jan. 1.

Activists claim the new fares weigh too heavily on low-income families, which make up more than 54 percent of RTD’s riders, with 27 percent earning less than $15,000 a year.

“For these folks, a daily pass sometimes means the difference between a ride to work for the day and skipping a meal, ” said Zoe Williams, transit organizer for 9to5 Colorado, a nonprofit group that advocates for working women.

RTD officials say they are working with advocacy groups to come up with equitable fares for everyone. They add that the new fare structure is more balanced for all riders.

For instance, the agency is introducing a day pass that allows passengers to make multiple trips on bus or train on a given day without paying more than they would for a round trip.

RTD is also banking that its “smart card” system will be running by Jan. 1. A smart card is a reusable plastic card the size of a credit card and containing a chip. Passengers who buy one can electronically load and manage RTD passes and fares.

The smart-card system, under development for nearly five years, has been used on a limited basis. Smart cards — once offered to every rider — will also include discounts.

RTD had not changed its fares since 2011 and has not made any significant changes in the agency’s fare structure in nearly a decade, say officials.

Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/montewhaley