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McHenry County DOT: fare changes nudge paratransit revenue closer to 10% recovery target
Summary
DOT staff said March fare-structure changes pushed more trips into lower-cost tiers while average trip cost rose modestly; staff reported farebox recovery improved from roughly 6% to about 8.5% through April and reiterated that about 91–92% of program costs remain subsidized.
During the committee's planning report, DOT staff reviewed March fare-structure changes that consolidated trip charges into three distance tiers. Staff said the result is a narrower distribution of per-trip costs and a modest increase in the average fare charged to riders.
"The rider is paying for 8.5% now. They were paying for 6% before this change," a senior staff speaker said while presenting a slide showing changes through April. Staff cautioned that the per-ride dollar increase was modest (roughly a dollar on average, staff noted some figures were approximate) but that small per-ride increases can add up for frequent riders. Committee members asked whether operating costs had remained steady; staff explained that the operating deficit (operating cost minus fare revenue) is shared with PACE and that increasing fare revenue reduces each partner's subsidy burden, while still leaving roughly 91–92% of program costs covered by taxpayers.
