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Metro's $2.5B Budget Includes No Fare Increases

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Metro is proposing a $2.5 billion budget that avoids fare hikes for the coming fiscal year.

The spending plan is expected to be presented Thursday to the transit agency's board of directors.

Metro general manager Richard Sarles tells The Washington Post that "this should be a happy time for people" since the budget proposes neither service cuts nor fare increases.

Included in the fiscal 2014 operating budget are funds to begin operating the new Silver Line and money for more limited-stop buses in parts of the region as well as for a program to manage Metro workers' fatigue.

Metro also plans to upgrade its power system and continue fixing its infrastructure.

The agency, which is facing declining ridership, expects to have a $27 million budget deficit.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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