Owing to higher operating costs and a need to recoup those expenses, Sound Transit is hiking the light-rail fare:

Beginning next Wednesday, the fare will range from $2.00 to $2.75, depending how far you travel on the line from downtown to Sea-Tac Airport (and through the South Seattle neighborhoods in between). The fare on Sound Transit's Express buses will also increase by up to 50 cents. King County Metro, meanwhile, has fares pegged at $2.50 during peak hours.

I'm all for paying for government services. And of those services, transit is among the most important to me. But at what point do rising fares seriously suppress ridership? For example, the light-rail fare from the International District station to the Beacon Hill station, which is only a little over two miles, will be $2.25. Two or three people may as well take a cab at that rate because the costs are in the same ballpark. The story is same for would-be bus riders traveling from downtown to the nearby neighborhoods: Two or three people save money by getting in a cab, adding to the traffic, and denying the transit system any money.