Hillsdale City Council to Consider Dial-a-Ride Fare Increase

In an effort to keep up with rising costs, the City of Hillsdale has raised fees across the board, with many of those new fees going into effect in 2025.

At its regularly scheduled Monday meeting, the Hillsdale City Council will consider further Dial-a-Ride fare hikes to address the program’s annual shortfall.

The Dial-a-Ride program has traditionally received money from both state and federal government grants. But with Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) funding reportedly no longer keeping up with inflation, municipal governments with public transportation have been put in a tight spot.

In order to address the shortfall, city council raised Dial-a-Ride rates, effective in July 2024. But even revenue from the increased fees is not nearly enough to cover the expenses of the service.

The program depends on money from the city’s General Fund, with $121,655 budgeted for the current fiscal year. That number is set to rise even higher if measures are not taken.

The current fee schedule for in-town travel ranges from $2.00 to $3.50 per ride. The proposed schedule would increase fares $0.50 for seniors, children, and students going to school, and $1.50 for adults.

The fee schedule for those traveling to or from locations out of town ranges from $2.75 to $5.00, and would be increased to $3.00 and $6.00, respectively.

Over the past four years, fares have accounted for a mere ten percent of Dial-a-Ride’s annual revenue.

The price increase was recommended to council by the local Dial-a-Ride committee, as well as the city council’s standing public services committee.

In order to further address the decreased funding from MDOT, council in 2024 began an advertising program on the Dial-a-Ride bus windows, which is anticipated to generate $36,000 in revenue upcoming fiscal year.

The proposed fare increase reflects the city’s broader response to rising costs and high rates of inflation over the past four years. For instance, since 2022 the City of Hillsdale has more than doubled dock space rental fees for Hillsdale residents.

At that time, the annual cost of renting a dock space for a Hillsdale resident was $200. In the following two years, the price went up to $300 before reaching a new high of $450 in 2025.

According to acting Mayor Joshua Paladino, many of the city’s rates and fees had been ignored for years, leading to abnormally low fees which in turn caused the city to have to fund programs out of its General Fund.

“Unfortunately for decades the mayor and City Council have not raised rates annually with inflation, and with the cost of providing services,” Paladino said.

Now, in the high inflation economy, the city “cannot afford to subsidize these rentals and services.”

Though most fees have been increased across the board, Paladino led efforts in 2024 to eliminate residential “Use and Occupancy” fees and permits for homeowners across the city.

Jacob Bruns

You can follow the Hillsdalian on Facebook and Twitter.