PART will hold a public hearing tomorrow to discuss next year’s budget, which could include a fare increase. No doubt a proposed increase in car registration fees will also be discussed, and while the proposed $3 increase appears to be dead, there’s now talk of a $1 increase.
Guilford County’s board of commissioners is an interesting gang, but I sure don’t see them passing a fee hike on top of a 4.5-cent property tax increase. Still, High Point —- with 85,000 vehicles —kicked around the possibility. While Mayor Becky Smothers questioned whether or not a fare increase would violate federal law — a lawsuit from bus riders, anyone?—- council member Chris Whitley questioned PART’s usefulness in High Point:
Whitley said PART’s usefulness to High Point is limited by a new park-and-ride lot PART recently built off Plank Road. “That’s hosting about five cars right now,” Whitley said. “That’s not helping.”
Smothers argued that the park-and-ride was in a good location for anyone driving from High Point to Winston-Salem.
“I don’t know,” Whitley replied. If you drive that far out, you might as well drive the final 10 minutes and be there.”
I guess the question is whether the park-and-ride lot has only five vehicles because of its location or because that’s the number of people who would use PART anyway.
