San Francisco to raise subway fares to pay for fleet renewal

San Francisco’s transport authority, BART, is to raise subway fares in order to fund its ‘Fleet of the Future‘ rolling stock programme.

From January 1, the cost of a ticket will increase on average by 19 cents to pay for a portion of BART’s $800 million contribution to a major renewal of the city’s subway system, including new trains, a new train control system and improvements to existing maintenance facilities.

BART has said the 5.2 per cent increase, which is based on 2010-12 inflation figures, will be followed by further ‘below inflation’ fare increases in 2016, 2018 and 2020, generating $325 million.

BART spokesman Alicia Trost said in a statement: “BART is required to come up with a portion of funding for many of our capital projects in order to qualify to receive extra money from other sources.

“BART must pay $800 million toward the cost of new rail cars – this fare increase will help us achieve that goal.

“We understand no one wants to pay higher fares but riders should know this money can only be spent on these identified projects which will benefit passengers.”




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