WASHINGTON - Ben Franklin Transit fares are going up Wednesday.

But that likely won't be enough to help the agency deal with declining sales tax revenues that support transit operations.

That's why Ben Franklin Transit plans to cut some routes and services, and also charge up to $3 on its taxi feeder routes.

There's a shortfall of nearly $700,000 in sales tax revenues so far this year, explained Kathy McMullen, transit's manager of service development. So the agency is cutting services that cost a lot and have few riders, she said. Transit's annual operating budget is $29 million.

Proposed cuts include eliminating the Sunday service, which is provided by a local taxi company. And all weekday bus service would end at 6 p.m., about half an hour earlier than usual.

In addition, taxi feeder service which helps people get to the nearest transit station would start charging a fee of $1 to $3.

Also on the chopping block are the Saturday on-demand service to Prosser and Route 52, a shuttle service that takes shoppers from the transit center near the coliseum to Columbia Center mall and to other stores in the area.