Whatcom Transportation Authority’s proposed 2010 budget may mean the end for all Sunday bus routes as well as some lesser-used routes throughout the county.
Aside from the Sunday routes, Western students will not need to worry about routes through campus being affected by the cuts, said Maureen McCarthy, WTA’s community relations and marketing manager.
With sales tax revenue—WTA’s primary income source—falling short of necessary amounts in the weak economy, WTA is underfunded despite record bus ridership within the last few years, McCarthy said.
WTA has been dipping into reserve funds since 2008, McCarthy said. Before this, these funds were growing.
At the current rate of spending, the reserve funds will reach critically low amounts in 2012. WTA needs at least $7 million in the bank at any given moment, McCarthy said.
“It pains us to unwind what we’ve spent years winding up,” McCarthy said.
The proposed budget cuts include laying off 28 full-time employees, more than half of whom are drivers, cutting cost-of-living increases for employees and holding back on $240,000 worth of capital purchases.
If the WTA board approves the proposed budget cuts, they will be postponing the problem without a solid fix, McCarthy said. WTA needs more revenue to fix the problem, which could mean an increase in local sales taxes, she said.
McCarthy said one suggestion made by Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike, a WTA board member, was to increase the amount of sales taxes brought in via a ballot measure. This would mean voters decide how to fund WTA.
The only other way out is to hope for a better economy, McCarthy said.
On Oct. 1, bus fares went up from 75 cents to $1. Even with this increase, WTA is still facing a drastic budget shortfall, McCarthy said. The fare increase will bring in approximately $300,000 a year, but the deficit is approximately $2.4 million per year, McCarthy said.
McCarthy said the cuts run counter to what WTA is trying to do. The economy has made it difficult to innovate and to improve transportation systems, McCarthy said.
McCarthy said local businesses are likely to take a hit if bus routes are cut. Many people rely on the buses as their main source of transportation, especially in a college town, McCarthy said.
Western junior Alana Hall said she does not like the idea of WTA halting some of the routes, especially the Sunday routes.
“If the Sundays are cut, it is going to greatly affect what I can do,” Hall said.
Hall said she does not drive, so she relies heavily on the bus for errands such as grocery shopping. She said not having the Sunday bus routes would be a huge inconvenience, and the buses should be there for the riders.
Public transportation is important, said Bill Anker, owner of the Anker Café on Cornwall Avenue.
Anker said many people sit down at his café while they wait for the bus.
Anker said the city should save money on other things, such as expensive sculptures, and use the saved money to help fund the transportation system. He cited the $128,000 sculpture installed last November on the intersection of Holly and Bay Streets as an example of where money could have been saved.
Only registered users can post comments.
Please login or register.
Be first to comment on this article
