Capital Metro is kicking off a public participation process to help us develop our Fiscal Year 2012 budget. Over the next few months, we’ll be delving deeper on some specific budget topics, and we invite you to learn more about where Capital Metro’s money comes from, how it is spent, and what we are planning for next year. We also want to hear your ideas on how we can improve our budget, and we’ll be posting opportunities for your involvement (webinars, open house, public hearing, surveys).
But first, here’s an overview of how the Capital Metro budget works. Take a look at the video and then take the quick survey to give us your initial thoughts.
Take the survey (takes less than 2 minutes).
CapMetro Blog 
It is disappointing that Capital Metro is not considering any fare increases. I would rather pay more than $1.00 for a local bus fare in return for receiving better, more frequent service on many routes. Most of the other major cities in the United States charge a higher local fare: Dallas $1.75, Houston $1.25, Salt Lake City $2.25, Denver $2.25, Phoenix $1.75, Portland $2.05, Seattle $2.25, Minneapolis $1.75, etc.
Although fare increases are painful, I find that it is just as painful to wait 30+ minutes for the next bus to arrive on a weekday (with many routes only running every 45-60 minutes on weekends). Likewise, I would support raising the express/MetroRail 2 zone fare up to $3.00 if it would allow Capital Metro to consider adding Saturday service to either the MetroRail or route 983.