Centro may raise its fares for Syracuse-area buses this April, making students dig deeper into their pockets to ride some buses that already run through campus for a fee.

Facing a $4.8 million budget deficit for the coming year, Centro has made a series of proposals, including raising the cash bus fare from $1.25 to $2, said Steve Koegel, Centro’s director of marketing and communications.

Changing schedules, altering some routes and adopting a new fare structure are among the proposals, according to the Centro website. Centro officials will hold a public hearing to get feedback about the proposals on March 9, according to the website.

After the hearing, Centro’s board of directors will vote on the proposals, and if approved, they will go into effect by April 25, Koegel said.

Cash fares could be raised to $2, but riders who buy multi-ride passes will only pay an additional 25 cents per ride, Koegel said.

The proposals could affect several routes through campus, such as the Carousel Center bus that runs during the daytime hours and the Nob Hill bus. But the proposals will not affect SU shuttles that are already free to students, Koegel said.

‘For our customers, there will be little effect for the Syracuse University area,’ he said.

Centro has lost $12 million in funding over the past three years from its two main sources: the New York state government and the New York state mortgage recording tax, Koegel said. To compensate for this loss, the company has used reserve funds and hiked fares by 25 cents in 2009, he said.

Katherine Urena, a senior international relations major who often takes the bus to Carousel Center during the week, noted the previous increase in fees in Centro bus routes.

‘Again? They just raised it,’ Urena said. ‘It used to be $1, now its $1.25. I feel like there’s no reason.’

jdgenco@syr.edu

 

Published on February 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm