The cost of jumping on board light rail or a bus will be going up for most riders in Santa Clara County, and this promises to be just the first hike in an attempt to stem the financial bleeding at the Valley Transportation Authority as ridership continues its steep decline.

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VTA expected to approve transit overhaul The VTA approved raising a one-way ticket from $2 to $2.25 as of Jan. 1, and to $2.50 by the start of 2019. However it lowered the cost for youths and held ticket prices for seniors and the disabled at current levels at Thursday’s board meeting.

The agency approved its first fare hike in eight years as it faces a $20.5 million operating deficit, which it will cover with cash reserves. It hopes the more costly tickets will bring in more than $17 million over the next three years without a significant drop in passengers.

But there are unknowns looming. A major change in bus and trolley service will kick in over the next year. And the opening of the BART extension to San Jose later this year could mean thousands of more riders — and higher costs to move them from the Berryessa station to job sites in Silicon Valley.

“There are a lot of challenges coming in the next year,” said VTA board member Glenn Hendricks at Thursday’s meeting, adding that the 12-member board needed to show “discipline, discipline, discipline” to keep costs under control and boost sources of revenue.

The last significant change to VTA fares took effect in 2009, when it increased the base fare from $1.75 to $2. But most Bay Area transit agencies have hiked fares, and this summer Caltrain will vote on an increase despite record ridership.

Agencies have seen sales tax income plummet, people opting to drive as gas prices remain stable while others needing a ride are opting for Uber and Lyft.

“Amid this storm of conflicting and uncertain winds, we retain concerns about the sustainability of the proposed service levels,” said chair Jeanne Bruins in a VTA report, adding that there could be an “immediate course correction should these projections prove overly optimistic, to dampen the boom-and-bust cycles of hiring, layoffs, and service cuts of past years.”

Eugene Bradley, the founder of the Silicon Valley transit riders group, said in a memo that a big part of the current problems “is due to loss of ridership from prior VTA service cuts and fare hikes, since 2001.

“When has any VTA fare hike or service reduction ever increased transit ridership?” Bradley asked.

Bus ridership has fallen 10.7 percent over the last year while light rail use slipped 14.5 percent compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year.

Even college students will feel the pinch, seeing their costs for the Eco Pass more than double from $9 to $20.

“It would be very dissatisfying to revoke a resource that thousands on campus utilize,” said Sandeep Chandok, a San Jose State University student, noting that driving and parking on campus costs — $200 a semester — and parking is not guaranteed as garages fill up by 9 a.m.

“For all the money we pay for tuition,” Chandok said, “taking away a consistently used tool that benefits many would be extremely unfair.”