OCEAN CITY – Resort officials voted this week to support bus and tram fare increases ahead of the summer season.
The Mayor and Council had before them favorable recommendations from the Ocean City Transportation Committee to raise the town’s bus and tram fares by $1. Mayor Rick Meehan, committee liaison, said the increase will allow the town to cover the increasing costs associated with both operations.
“Considering the increase in expenses and fuel and the drivers and the cost of providing the service, we felt that these recommendations were warranted,” he said.
Last month, the transportation committee voted unanimously to send a favorable recommendation to the Mayor and Council to raise the town’s bus fare from $3 to $4, all day, year-round, beginning May 1 or sooner. Meehan told the council this week the town is required to offer a hearing on the proposed change.
“We want to go ahead and move that forward so we can be ready for the May 1 deadline,” he said.
Officials say the proposed increase would be the first in more than a decade.
“Bus fares have not been increased since 2011, which is 12 years,” Meehan said. “We’ve figured we’ve held that rate as long as we can. It’s still the best deal in town, $4 ride all day.”
Meehan told councilmembers this week raising the bus fare to $4 would result in a revenue increase of $390,545 in fiscal year 2024. The committee also forwarded a favorable recommendation to increase tram fees from $4 to $5, resulting in a revenue increase of $94,885.
“This allows us to be able to fund increased salaries, which I hope will increase the number of trams we can have on the Boardwalk, which will benefit the tourists because they want to ride the trams,” he said. “We just have to make sure we can fund the system to have a sufficient number of trams on the Boardwalk.”
A motion was made by Council Secretary Tony DeLuca and seconded by Councilman Frank Knight to increase the bus fare from $3 to $4 and the tram fare from $4 to $5. The council voted 5-1, with Councilwoman Carol Proctor absent and Councilman Peter Buas opposed, to approve the changes. The town issued a notice Tuesday advising the public of the proposed fare change and to offer the public an opportunity to submit written comments or request a public hearing.
