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The Denton County Transportation Authority's (DCTA) board has approved changes to the system's fare structure, effective Jan. 14.

The board's action will change some local system, regional and reduced fares. No changes will be made to the system's Connect, Connect RSVP or Access fares, DCTA officials said in a prepared statement.

The fare changes will help balance ridership growth while increasing cost recovery, improve travel on the local system and provide regional fare consistency, they said.

"The changes to the regional fares are intended to keep DCTA aligned with DCTA's regional transit partners," said President Jim Cline. The agency's partners are Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.

In addition, the local system changes are designed to encourage ridership between Carrollton, Lewisville and Denton, Texas, as well as boost passenger counts at midday, when ridership typically is lower, said Cline.

The agency also will increase rates for reduced fares "to be more aligned with the industry standard," said Jarod Varner, DCTA's vice president of transit operations.

The authority also announced that DCTA transported 2,976,271 riders in fiscal-year 2012, a 17 percent increase over FY2011.

The full implementation of the A-Train, improved bus connectivity, and the addition of midday and expanded Friday and Saturday night service contributed to the ridership growth, agency officials said. The A-Train carried 411,389 riders in its first full year of operation.