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Commuters confront possible future without Caltrain
San Francisco Examiner
This month, Caltrain Executive Director Michael Scanlon painted a sobering picture of the future of his transit agency. Huge budget deficits, a struggling economy and dwindling ridership were forcing the agency to reduce service by 50 percent — and contemplate whether Caltrain could survive in the future under its current financial model. A three-county regional service that carried 38,000 riders at its peak, the elimination of Caltrain could result in major repercussions for commuters on the Peninsula, including increased congestion on already-crowded freeways and more strain on fellow struggling transit agencies...Avoiding these nightmarish scenarios will not be simple. Caltrain needs a dedicated funding source to manage its operations or else it will constantly battle gaping budget deficits, [Christine Dunn, spokeswoman for Caltrain] said.
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Ventura Bus Routes Get Slashed
KCET
Due to inadequate transportation funding, Gold Coast Transit, the local and intercity bus service for Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and San Buenaventura reduced its Route 16 service and cut its Route 6 midday services in half on Sunday. The lack of transportation dollars are a result of factors plaguing not only Ventura County, but also the rest of the economically challenged state. California's current recession has greatly impacted the ¼ cent statewide sales tax that goes to fund all of California's public transit under the Transportation Development Act. In the last 2 ½ years Ventura County alone has seen a reduction of about 30 percent in TDA funding. Different from the other Southern California counties, Ventura County is additionally challenged with transportation funding because it lacks a ½ cent countywide sales tax (or in the case of Los Angeles county, three different 1/2 cent sales taxes) that the other counties use to help fund public transportation.
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Foothill Transit considers rate increase
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Facing a multi-million dollar budget deficit, Foothill Transit has proposed increasing bus fares by 10-to-25 percent to avoid widespread service cuts. The proposal would raise adult and student fares from $1 to $1.25 and most other fares and passes by 10 percent. The agency last month proposed cutting 14 of its 35 lines to eliminate a $12.5 million budget deficit. But during a series of public hearings on that proposal, some customers said they would be willing to pay more in order to minimize the cuts, according to Foothill Transit spokeswoman Felicia Friesema.
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L.A. bus, rail fares may increase
Los Angeles Times
Amid the worst economic downturn since World War II, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning to increase fares for the first time in two years to help offset a $204-million gap in its operating budget for buses and rail systems. The proposed fare hike, which will go into effect July 1, is opposed by the Bus Riders Union, which protested the planned increase Tuesday morning outside the MTA headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. Unless the MTA board of directors rescinds the increase, the one-way cash fare will rise from $1.25 to $1.50, a daily pass will go from $5 to $6 and a monthly pass will increase from $62 to $75. Fares will not be raised for people with disabilities, students, Medicare recipients and people who are 62 or older.
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Muni budget cuts service 10%
San Francisco Chronicle
Muni riders can expect longer waits for more crowded buses over the next 15 months if the lean budget adopted by the Municipal Transportation Agency board on a 4-3 vote Tuesday survives a review by the Board of Supervisors. The $750 million budget for the year beginning July 1 leans heavily on savings from a 10 percent service cut that takes effect on May 8, as well as $35.9 million in state transit assistance that had originally been expected. City officials had hoped that the state money could be used to reduce the severity of those service reductions, but Nathaniel Ford, the agency's chief executive officer, said that won't be possible until July 2011.
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