Rising diesel costs could put TriMet in a bind

Transit agency digs into contingency fund, could increase fares to cover increased fuel expenses

By Kevin Harden

LocalNewsDaily.com, Jan 23, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (41 Reader comments)

Rising diesel costs could force TriMet to dig deep into its reserve funds and possibly increase fares.

TriMet’s board of directors approved a plan to deal with increasing fuel costs Wednesday morning that includes using at least $1.5 million of its contingency fund and, as a last resort, raising fares for the fourth time in three years.

So far a fare increase is just a possibility, said Peggy LaPoint, TriMet spokeswoman, and no amount has been determined. The board’s plan would use contingency funds first, then increase fares if fuel costs continued to go up, she said.

This is the second time in two years that TriMet has taken steps to deal with rising fuel costs. In October 2005 the agency adopted its first “corrective action plan” to cover a $4.5 million budget shortfall due to increasing diesel prices. As part of the plan, the agency increased fares by 15 cents.

At the same time, TriMet worked to boost energy efficiency of its 606 buses on 92 routes. That resulted in a 6 percent increase in fuel efficiency, cutting its diesel needs by about 500,000 gallons a year.

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