Public Hearings on Fare Increases for GoBus

KILGORE – Public hearings are scheduled around East Texas on possible fare increases for the GoBus rural public transportation system. On July 2, the East Texas Council of Governments Executive Committee approved beginning the public hearing process required to raise the rates. The current rate of $2.00 per trip within a county and $5.00 per trip across counties has not been increased since 1997.

One-way fares proposed to become effective October 1, 2014 are:

$4.00 in County
$8.00 One County Over
$10.00 Two Counties Over
$3.00 for each additional county
$1.00 for each additional stop – up to three total stops permitted

At the time rates were set in 1997, the average price of a gallon of gas was $1.25. Now gas has increased to an average of some $3.54 per gallon. According to an ETCOG news release, the fare increase is to help build program sustainability. Officials point out that the total funding for GoBus comes from state and federal sources, with the exception of local contracts with the Area Agency on Aging of East Texas and Kilgore College for direct services and the City of Marshall to assist with funding its flex route system.

“We have looked to other rural transit providers in Texas to see what they are charging and find that we are proposing a fair rate for our customers. An example is Alamo Regional Transit, which asks $6 when traveling in the same county, $8 one county away and $12 two counties away. Another example is the Panhandle Transit, which charges between $1 and $17.50 based on distance and The Central Texas Rural Transit charges $1 for every 5 miles,” said ETCOG Director of Transportation John O. Hedrick.

ETCOG invites the public to attend one of the fourteen public hearings being held throughout the region for an opportunity to comment on the proposed fare increase. The hearings will be held at the Workforce Solutions East Texas center in each of the 14 counties served by ETCOG at the following dates and times:

Jefferson – Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 9:00 AM
208 N. Walnut Street, Jefferson, TX 75657

Marshall – Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 11:00 AM
4300 E. End Blvd., Marshall, TX 75633

Pittsburg – Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 9:00 AM
211 Mill Street, Pittsburg, TX 75686

Gilmer – Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 11:00 AM
405 E. Marshall Street, Gilmer, TX 75644

Longview – Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 2:00 PM
2430 S. High Street, Longview, TX 75602

Henderson – Friday, July 25, 2014, 11:00 AM
1424 S. Main Street, Henderson, TX 75654

Carthage – Friday, July 25, 2014, 2:00 PM
410 W. Sabine Street, Carthage, TX 75633

Athens – Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 9:00 AM
205 N. Murchison St. #101, Athens, TX 75751

Tyler – Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 11:00 AM
4100 Troup HWY, Tyler, TX 75703

Palestine – Thursday, July 31, 2014, 9:00 AM
Palestine Mall, 2000 S. Loop 256, Suite 18, Palestine, TX 75801

Jacksonville – Thursday, July 31, 2014, 11:00 AM
2027 N. Jackson Street, Jacksonville, TX 75766

Canton – Friday, August 1, 2014, 9:00 AM
1760 N. Trade Days Blvd., Canton, TX 75103

Emory – Friday, August 1, 2014, 11:30 AM
209 E. Quitman Street, Emory, TX 75440

Quitman – Friday, August 1, 2014, 2:00 PM
405 S. Hart St, Quitman TX 75783

To issue a public comment, call (903) 218-6399 or you may go to http://www.etcog.org/644/Proposed-Fare-Increase.htm to submit a written comment online. ETCOG will be taking public comments through August 22, 2014. For more information, contact ETCOG’s Director of Transportation, John O. Hedrick at John.Hedrick@etcog.org or (903) 218-6490.