City
Light Rail Fares Going Up Again
Seattle Transit Blog reports that in addition to increases in Sound Transit express bus fares, Link Light Rail fares will be going up starting in June. Adult fares will increase 25 cents, to a maximum one-way fare of $2.75 between downtown stations and Tukwila or SeaTac Airport.
As I've mentioned before, I don't mind paying to use light rail. But is there a point at which fares---which are, again, now as high as $5.50 for a round trip between the airport or Tukwila and the city---become untenable, or at least inequitable?
And is it fair to use zone-based pricing when some of the "zones" are inside the city proper, not in the far-flung suburbs for which zone pricing is typically designed (e.g., you pay more if you live in Mount Baker than if you live in Beacon Hill, even though the stations are less than a mile apart)?
As I've mentioned before, I don't mind paying to use light rail. But is there a point at which fares---which are, again, now as high as $5.50 for a round trip between the airport or Tukwila and the city---become untenable, or at least inequitable?
And is it fair to use zone-based pricing when some of the "zones" are inside the city proper, not in the far-flung suburbs for which zone pricing is typically designed (e.g., you pay more if you live in Mount Baker than if you live in Beacon Hill, even though the stations are less than a mile apart)?
