You know that concern about how rail might potentially tap bus maintenance funds if money gets tight? And how City Council members say that would be an “end run” around the ordinance that doesn’t allow general funds to be spent on rail?

Here’s an interesting way to avoid that problem: Raise bus fares.

A resolution introduced Friday by Nestor Garcia wouldn’t actually raise fares directly, but it would lay the groundwork for a hike. It would do that by requiring fares cover a larger part of bus operations.

Right now, fares must cover between 27 percent and 33 percent of operations costs. That’s the “farebox recovery ratio.” It leaves between 67 and 73 percent of the costs to be covered by city taxpayers rather than transit riders. That’s the “operating subsidy.”

Garcia’s resolution, if passed, would bump the ratio and slice the subsidy by calling for riders to carry more of the load — between 33.5 percent and 50 percent.

Rail, for comparison’s sake, is projected to have a 40 percent recovery ratio.