SamTrans mulls staff, service reductions to balance budget
San Mateo County officials proposed cutting as much as 15 percent of SamTrans' bus service. Administrators, bus operators and maintenance workers are all on the chopping block...The district will receive about $7 million less in federal, state and local subsidies next year and is beginning to experience drops in ridership that officials have linked to rising unemployment rates. Revenue from the district's half-cent sales tax is also expected to drop by more than $3 million.
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Orange County to eliminate predawn buses
Orange County transit officials voted Monday to eliminate predawn bus service at the end of the year, apparently signaling an end to a program designed to help graveyard shift and low-wage workers get home. The change is part of a general budget-cutting move that will result in reduced bus service throughout the county. The agency spared the Night Owl service for a few months past an originally proposed date, but directors said it was a temporary reprieve. The Orange County Transportation Authority is facing severe budget problems and needs to make up for a $33-million shortfall in the coming year's budget, officials said.
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Caltrain plans to raise fees, cut service
Caltrain officials appear poised to cut midday service by half, raise parking fees 50 percent and charge more for the monthly GO Pass to close a projected deficit nearing $3 million ... (The board) voted unanimously to declare a fiscal emergency. That move allows the transit agency to bypass state environmental reviews and enact service cuts and fare hikes at an accelerated pace. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency recently took that step, and AC Transit is set to consider declaring a fiscal emergency later this month. The financial pain is the result of state cuts and falling fare box and tax revenue. "Transit agencies across the state have been devastated," said Joshua Shaw, executive director of the California Transit Association, the lobbying arm for the state's transit agencies.
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Caltrain declares fiscal emergency
Caltrain declared a fiscal emergency yesterday to help the troubled transit agency balance its next budget without facing state-mandated review. Currently, Caltrain gets less than 50 percent of its revenue from paying customers. The agency relies on San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties for about $40 million a year, but that number is fluid, constantly changing because of the needs of San Francisco Muni, SamTrans and the Valley Transportation Agency.
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Fare hikes, service cuts for VTA and Caltrain
Facing the biggest transit crisis since the dot-com crash, the Valley Transportation Authority and Caltrain took painful steps Thursday that will cut service, raise fares and reduce ridership on trains and buses in Santa Clara County and up the Peninsula. The financial troubles are tied directly to the recession, with local sales tax revenue plunging and the state budget in dire straits. The California Legislature has eliminated $306 million in state funding for transit next year, and it appears likely that state transit money will disappear for the next four years.
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