Brownsville City Commission votes to increase bus fares

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Bus fares in Brownsville are going up for everyone following a vote by city commissioners. They say it is necessary to fix the budget and avoid any cuts to their service.

The vote came despite public outcries against the increase. The resolution was approved in a five-to-two decision.

Commissioner Roy De Los Santos tried to table the item for the next meeting for further review.

Brownsville Student Marleen Salazar is upset with the decision and voiced her frustration.

“Everything is going up and we are also dealing with the issue of inflation, and we are also dealing with the increase of prices, but I think they forgot the big message that you are also dealing with this but your constituents are dealing with getting $400 of a paycheck for two weeks and minimizing that for rent and food," Salazar said.

After the vote, the deputy director of multimodal transportation, met with Salazar and others to further discuss the issue. Salazar believes the commissioners failed to see how the community would be impacted.

Martin Cuevas said this will hit the pockets of most adults who work in the downtown area or use the bus for traveling in Brownsville.

“People who are workers down here, who are affected by the bus fare increase, feel like it's taking more money out of their pockets," Cuevas said. "People who have a hard time finding parking are now trying to use more and more our local metro, and for them, it's just choosing one way of taking money out of their pocket.”

Commissioner Linda C. Macias said voting no on the resolution was not a choice as it meant making cuts in personnel and bus stop funding. Ultimately, this would mean fewer available routes for the public.

“I asked the public to raise your hand if you want us to cut personnel, raise your hand if you want us to cut bus stops, nobody raised their hand," Macias said.

Macias said she found common ground with those advocating against the increase when they said how the elderly, disabled, and students would still get a 50% discount.

The new bus fares will be implemented at the start of the new fiscal year in October.