In face of $3.1 million budget gap, PVTA approves delayed service cuts, plan to hike bus fares 20 percent
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus riders will pay 20 percent more at the fare box and for passes and paratransit trips starting July 1 following a vote Monday of the the PVTA Advisory Board. The board also voted Monday to take a once-every-three-years review of its fares, which before Monday hadn’t gone up in a decade. But any fare hikes resulting from those reviews would need a new set of public hearings and a vote at that time. Level funding from the state for the PVTA means the agency gets $23.6 million in the coming budget year. Rising costs for buses, fuel, maintenance and payroll would leave the transit agency with a $3.1 million budget gap, according to the PVTA.