Metro’s proposed fare increase could be smaller than originally thought, thanks to expense reductions and an improved ridership outlook.

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Metro announced Sunday that its operating budget will only need to grow by about $103 million in the next fiscal year. That's a reduction of $16 million. The revised proposed operating budget is about $1.576 billion.

Metro had proposed increasing rail and bus peak fares by an average of 5 percent.

Any fare changes would likely begin in July.

The transit agency's board's finance committee will discuss options to amend the original fare proposal at its meeting Thursday.