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NCTD to outsource 101 bus line to save money
Del Mar Times
North County Transit District has decided to contract out the 101 bus line that serves riders from Oceanside to La Jolla to First Transit, a private transportation company that currently provides some of its handicapped rider services, starting Oct.18. "Back in February, the board directed the executive director to begin looking at all alternatives, given the decline in state and sales tax revenues," said Bob Campbell, board chairman. "As we move forward, we will continue to review all of our business activities with a focus of reducing costs and increasing ridership."
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AC Transit seeks funding switch to reduce service cuts
Contra Costa Times
AC Transit board members will seek permission to reallocate $35 million in federal money from its bus rapid transit plan and use it to minimize cuts in regular bus service. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a Bay Area agency, will study and then rule on the request. "We don't have an answer yet," Randy Rentschler, an MTC spokesman, said Monday. Although federal rules require the congestion management dollars be spent on new or expanded service, AC Transit managers assert they would use the money on new bus routes developed in the process of cutting back and reorganizing bus service Meanwhile, the AC board will holds its last public hearing on proposed bus services cuts 6 p.m. Wednesday.
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New Report: Feds Subsidizing Parking Six Times as Much as Transit
DC Streetsblog
"Subsidy" is a word used quite often in transportation policy-making circles, whether by road acolytes who claim (falsely) that highways are not federally subsidized because of the gas tax or by transit boosters who lament Washington's unceasing focus on paying for more local asphalt. But the subsidy debate often overlooks the government tax exemption for workers' parking expenses. And federal parking subsidies are skyrocketing, as Subsidyscope revealed yesterday in its data-packed report on U.S. transport spending: the value of tax-free parking will reach $3 billion this year, compared with $500 million in subsidies for transit use.
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Council rejects e-tran fare hike, seeks possible RT transfer savings
Sacramento Bee
There will be no immediate change in e-tran service or fares to help close an operating deficit for Elk Grove's transit system. E-tran, coping with a $640,000 shortfall this year and a $300,000 operating deficit in future years, had flirted with doubling the e-tran commuter bus pass to $200 or more per month. Instead, the Elk Grove City Council on Wednesday night directed transit officials to work with Sacramento Regional Transit to find ways to minimize the costs to e-tran of accepting RT transfer passes from riders. Tiffani Fink, Elk Grove transit system manager, said discussions with RT are expected in the coming weeks. She plans to report back to the council in November with the outcome of those talks, the financial implications and whether the city should discontinue accepting the RT pass.
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