Ten-year-old Charlie Backus is the king of the road.

Charlie is regularly chauffeured to music camp, summer theater at the Lawrence Arts Center and many other hot spots in Lawrence courtesy of a 30-foot limousine.

All right, it is not exactly a limousine; it’s a Lawrence Transit System bus. But it works just fine for Charlie.

“I ride it every day,” Charlie said Monday as he hopped off the T at Ninth and New Hampshire streets and gave a quick high-five to a preteen friend who was boarding.

But soon, Charlie may be grounded.

Lawrence city commissioners tonight are scheduled to review a host of changes to the T, including a fare increase from 50 cents per ride to $1. But the change that has Charlie’s attention is a proposed policy that would prohibit children younger than 12 from riding the bus without an adult.

“I think it is kind of wrong,” said Charlie, who lives in North Lawrence and finds the bus the best way to get south of the river. “Maybe there have been a couple of bad apples, but I think it is wrong that if one kid has done something bad that they’re saying that every kid is going to do something bad.”

Public transit leaders insist there haven’t been a rash of incidents prompting them to propose the change.

Instead, Public Transit Administrator Cliff Galante told commissioners in a memo that the policy would help eliminate “awkward” situations, during which drivers are dealing with unattended youths who may require additional supervision.

There’s also concern some children may not be able to function well in high-traffic, congested areas that often surround city bus stops.

There’s disagreement, though, in the city’s transit ranks. The Public Transit Advisory Committee recommends against the change. Leaders of that committee have said they don’t want to do anything to discourage children from using the T to get to school. They also think parents should decide whether a child is mature enough to ride a bus alone.

Increasing fares

The age issue is just one of many facing the city’s transit system. The fare increase would be the first for the system since its inception six years ago. Several riders Monday said they couldn’t quibble with that.

“It is still pretty cheap compared to the cost of gas,” said John Babler, who rides the bus on a weekly basis. “I mean, it is a buck.”

If approved by city commissioners, the fare increases initially would be 75 cents per one-way ride, and then $1 by Jan. 1. Fares for the city’s paratransit service – which provides rides to people with disabilities that prevent them from using the T – would increase from today’s rate of $1 to $2 by Jan. 1.

The fare increases are designed to help the city cover increasing public transit costs. But the estimated $125,000 to $150,000 in additional revenue from fares will not be enough to cover the expected shortfall in the city’s transit budget.

Transit leaders are asking city commissioners to find additional money to fund the system in 2008, perhaps through a tax increase. But if they don’t, Galante has said about $450,000 worth of cuts will be required, including:

¢ Eliminating Saturday service.

¢ Shutting down the system at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.

¢ Decreasing the frequency of some routes from a 40-minute cycle to an 80-minute cycle.

Future fuel costs

The current funding issues may be just the tip of the iceberg for the T. At the end of 2008, the contract the city has with its transit provider expires.

The current contract has a deal-of-the-decade type of clause in it that prohibits the transit provider from passing along higher fuel prices to the city. That means the city essentially pays fuel prices from 2001, when diesel was well below $2 a gallon.

Galante has said in today’s environment it will be difficult to get a new contract that prohibits fuel price increases from being passed along to the city.

Commissioners meet at 6:35 tonight at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets. The fare increases, age issue and other policy issues are on the commission’s agenda for action. The cuts in service are not on the agenda for action but likely will be discussed.