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BART considers stimulus funds to avoid layoffs
San Francisco Chronicle
...the transit district hopes it can stave off more layoffs - or service cuts and fare increases - by using some of its federal economic stimulus money to run trains. Since BART approved its budget - and won more than $100 million in savings from its labor unions - the budget deficit for the current year has grown from a projection of $22 million to an estimated $26 million. Officials blame larger-than-expected drops in ridership and sales tax revenue...instead of laying off 70 to 80 employees, the transit district plans to divert a $20 million combination of stimulus funds and other federal funds into operating expenses.
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Transit board votes to privatize its 325 bus workers
North County Times
In a vote that stands to forever change the public agency it leads, the North County Transit District Board of Directors decided Thursday to privatize the agency's roughly 325 bus workers, a move that will reduce the workers' pay and benefits but also help keep the financially wounded district afloat. The 9-0 vote awards First Transit of Cincinnati, Ohio, a seven-year, $178 million contract. District leaders for much of this year have discussed the agency's crushing financial straits: A projected $16.1 million deficit for the 2010-11 fiscal year, the loss of $30 million of expected state transit assistance since 2003 and the region's plummeting sales tax revenue, which is used to cover much of the agency's operating expenses.
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For Creating Jobs, Transit Operating Aid is Best Bet
Mobilizing the Region
As the country grapples with rising unemployment rates, Congressional leaders are beginning to consider passage of a “jobs bill” that could reportedly include anything from tax credits for new hires to infrastructure. A recent report by the American Public Transportation Association shows that investment in transit — and in transit operating aid especially — should be added to the bill. The report, funded by the federal Transit Cooperative Research Program, estimates every $1 billion spent on transit can support up to 41,100 jobs and generate up to $2 billion of gross domestic product per year through job creation, increased productivity from reduced congestion and cost savings for both transit riders and businesses.
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Mass Transit Cuts
San Diego Reader
“Sales-tax shortfalls and the improper elimination of state transit-assistance funds are forcing MTS to reduce its expenses by more than $7 million. To preserve the network of weekday services and to impact as few riders as possible, [we are] proposing to substantially reduce service on Sundays. All routes will be affected.” At the conference, Jeff Wagner of the California Transit Association announced plans to negotiate the reinstatement of transit-assistance funds that have been diverted by the State of California.
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Mass Transit’s Reversal of Fortune
In Transition
Between volatile fuel prices, a sea change in public attitudes towards the environment, and the enormity of the world’s financial collapse, the nation’s transit agencies have appeared more like amusement parks in the past year, riding a roller coaster of increased demand, increased cost and uncertain financial futures. But as the sobriety of 2009 has set in, this wild ride eased into a new reality: deficits, fare increases and cost-cutting strategies that are ushering in a new age of austerity that rivals any crisis that American public transit has ever experienced.
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Metrolink postpones decision about rate hike
Los Angeles Daily News
Metrolink's board of directors postponed a decision Friday on a proposed 6 percent fare hike, directing its staff to consider other options -- including possible service reductions -- to make up for a sharp decline in revenue. The Metrolink staff had proposed an across-the-board 6 percent fare hike, effective Jan. 1, noting that ridership for the first quarter of the fiscal year was at a four-year low, thanks in large part to the nation's sagging economy...the board instead directed Metrolink staff to examine other cost-saving measures first, including service reductions and possible delays in capital. In addition to the diminished fare revenue, Metrolink is also facing higher expenses as it works to implement safety measures...
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