I agree with you- fare increases make sense. And an increase on the EcoPass cost is negligible for a “small” business.

We’re just struggling with it as our office is particularly small, as are most of the surrounding offices. We also travel a lot here, and the SkyRide is SO important for us getting to the airport. I think I’m worried that small offices will feel the brunt of it and not even be offered such a pass, while larger ones still get the opportunity to provide it to their employees. That doesn’t seem right, especially since Downtown is made up of a lot of smaller offices and businesses that rely on the EcoPass as a tool to help them recruit and keep employees.

I agree that I’d still use mass transit- I HATE driving and there’s no way I could park downtown or even wish for such a thing. Plus it just makes sense environmentally. It’s also nice to have the company in the morning and evening commute.

Yes, a study would be a very good thing! We could find out who uses passes and the benefits/issues.

As for the fare increases, this is a reasonable thing to do based on how much the price of fuel has increased. This money needs to come from somewhere.

Raising the cost of Eco Passes 19% will make them cost $371 (is currently $312) per employee for “small” businesses. This cost is really insignificant to most employers.

Charging $5 for Eco Pass holders to use SkyRide is absurd and undermines the entire concept of the Eco Pass program.

Changing the definition of “small company” might be necessary. First there should be a study done on Eco Pass use. There is no definitive study which has been conducted to determine the effects. If the definition is changed, users may need to purchase monthly passes. This can happen through your employer and you don’t need to pay tax on the cost.

These solutions make it more expensive for the user of the system or the user’s employer. Isn’t that only fair when the cost of providing the service goes up? All industries pass along costs to their customers. Why should government entities or government subsidized entities have to play by different rules?

In saying all that, I agree with you that it is a crap situation. I am an Eco Pass user. I commute to Boulder from Denver every day on mine. It would be very costly for me to lose this wonderful benefit (~ $160/month at current rates), but I would still take public transit. Not only is it cheaper for me to do so, but it makes me feel good about doing the right thing for the environment. I also get to sleep or read on the way.

Remember that this is one of the wonderful things about living in the Denver area. People here have put an emphasis on having a sustainable transit system which is mostly funded by tax dollars. Either we raise the taxes (which affects everyone including non-users) or the users and employers of the users need to pay for it. Being a user of the system, it would be great if tax payers paid for all of it and made it free to all. This is simply not a reality.