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Transit NewsWatch | July 16, 2009
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California must find a long-term solution for transit funding
San Jose Mercury News
Demand for public transit is higher than it has been in decades. Even car-loving Orange County has seen transit demand rise by double-digit percentages, even after gas prices began sliding late last year. In Silicon Valley, bus and light-rail ridership is up by more than 3 percent. Yet California transit agencies are cutting service left and right. The reason? State funding for transit operations — the money that pays for drivers and keeps buses and trains maintained — was zeroed out for the next five years by the governor and the Legislature in the February budget agreement. Transit agencies have had to respond by raising fares and cutting service.The transit authorities have had little choice. This is the fault of Sacramento for making the cuts and then doing virtually nothing to solve this problem over the long term. Unless policy leaders start looking for a solution to restore transit funding, everybody — rich, poor, young and old — will face worse traffic congestion and air pollution and experience greater difficulty getting to where they need to go.
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Riders vs. raiders: Court declares state’s pillaging of public transit illegal
Sacramento News and Review
Sacramento Regional Transit general manager Mike Wiley got some good news last week. At least, it’s what passes as good news in his business these days. For the last three years, state lawmakers have been siphoning money away from public-transportation districts in order to help fill in California’s deepening budget hole. That’s money agencies like RT desperately need to keep the buses and trains running, and the budget cuts have been a shock to people who rely on public transit. But last week, the state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that the diversion of funds was illegal and that the state has to pay transportation agencies back the money. “It’s the most encouraging news we’ve heard about state funding in a long time,” Wiley said.
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Big chunk of bus service to be cut in March
Orange County Register
Board members of the county's transportation agency have agreed to cut some 300,000 hours of annual bus service all at once next March instead of drawing out the process. The March service cut will be part of an Orange County Transportation Authority plan to slash more than 400,000 service hours – or 22 percent – that officials hope will help fill a $33 million gap in the transit budget. The cuts that will begin in September are in addition to 133,000 hours of annual service that have been eliminated since December 2008. About 60 bus drivers are expected to be loose their jobs in September, saving the agency $8.5 million, OCTA officials say.
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Muni set to join the billion-dollar club
San Francisco Chronicle
The annual operating budget for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is expected to bust past the $1 billion mark in five years -- $300 million more than this year's budget. If Muni does not cut costs or generate more revenue, its projected deficit over the next five years would add up to more than $1 billion. Agency staff on Tuesday will present the Muni governing board with funding ideas for the city's transit, bike, pedestrian and parking programs.
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Riders criticize plan for higher bus fare
Ventura County Star
Riders of commuter buses to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles are voicing their objections to proposed fare increases for VISTA’s Coastal Express and Conejo Connection routes. The Ventura County Transportation Commission is scheduled to consider approving the higher prices Friday in Camarillo. During a public hearing Wednesday night at Ventura City Hall, more than a dozen riders said the increase — the first since 2001 — is excessive and would cause a financial hardship for low-income passengers.
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www.caltransit.org // p. 916.446.4656 // f. 916-446-4318
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