The amendment passed 13 votes to six votes. It was one of three proposed amendments to County Executive Scott Walker's recommended Milwaukee County Transit budget.
The amendment was proposed by Michael Mayo (7th District), Willie Johnson Jr., (13th District), Toni Clark (2nd District) and Gerry Broderick (3rd District). Marquette's campus is represented by Elizabeth Coggs-Jones in the 10th District and Johnson in the 13th.
John Weishan Jr. (16th District) said it was the wrong time to raise bus fares and that Walker's budget "serves his own political agenda."
"This is a trend in the wrong direction," Weishan said. "Raising fares on our dedicated transit riders who depend on us is just wrong."
Walker's proposed budget did not include route cuts that would have affected suburban areas and upset Republican voters, Weishan said.
"We shouldn't play that game," he said. "The county executive is no friend to transit."
County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic (4th District) called the bus fare situation "a predicament we shouldn't even be in."
Dimitrijevic said a tax increase on people who ride the buses regularly did not make sense.
"Students really depend on the U-Pass," she said. "If students don't choose to go with this any more because of the increase, it results in a $2 million revenue hole."
Dimitrijevic's theory is based on the belief that if U-Pass prices are raised, no one will buy them and the revenue gained from those purchases will be lost. Marquette students recieve U-Passes each semester, because the $38 fee is automaticallly included in every undergraduate's tuition bill.
Brandon Jensen, legislative director for the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 representing the Milwaukee County Transit System bus drivers, said there had been concern that the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee would not utilize the U-Pass if the fee were to increase by the proposed $6.
"With the U-Pass, many students will get on the bus when they could just walk. We'll lose ridership and revenue because students will never get on the bus," Jensen said.
The amendment would also increase special student passes by $2.25 instead of the proposed $2.50. The price would rise from $11.50 to $13.75.
Under the adopted amendment, the cost of a Commuter Value Pass will increase from $126 to $155.
The Transit Union was not as concerned with the Commuter Value Pass because employers usually subsidize that fee, Jensen said.
"It is not unreasonable to increase a small fee on the buses," said Clark.
The special student pass receives federal government funding from the Chapter 220 program and is included in the Milwaukee Public Schools budget, Clark said. Chapter 220, according to MPS, "is a state law which makes it possible for eligible Milwaukee students to attend suburban schools and for non-minority suburban students to attend Milwaukee schools."
The changes would result in a net revenue increase of $1.9 million.
The amendment passed within the Finance and Audit Budget by 13 votes to six votes, resulting in a veto-proof margin, Jensen said.
"If we needed to override a veto from the county executive we could pick up two to three extra votes," Jensen said. "Overall we're happy with what we got."
The Transit Union was also concerned with the shortage of buses, Jensen said.
"In 2004, we were supposed to get 32 buses but we only got nine," he said. "This is nowhere near sufficient with this increase in ridership."
Since MPS changed its hours, students are riding the bus home at rush hour when workers utilize the buses most, according to Jensen.