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In this Issue
At a time when the state has a $1.6 billion budget surplus, it’s
difficult to understand why the Minnesota House of Representatives passed cuts
to transit that would force a 40% cut to basic, local bus service. State funding for transit has been flat for
years, while costs to provide the service have grown by 3% annually. Additionally, as our
population ages, the cost of providing Metro Mobility service has been
increasing by 5% to 8% a year.
Although the impact cannot be fully known until such
proposals become law, what is clear is that Metro Mobility and Transit Link
service will suffer alongside regular route bus services. This will impact our
communities. The House bill requires fare increases across all modes of transit
well above the fare increases already under consideration, making services like
Transit Link and Metro Mobility unaffordable to some riders on fixed incomes. Metro
Mobility currently includes premium services like Same Day Taxi Service and
Supplemental Service that are costly to operate and could potentially be
eliminated due to this budget cut. Transit Link, a service to connect people in
suburban and rural areas to the regular transit system, faces the potential of
total elimination.
In a cruel twist of fate, the House bill picks winners and
losers amongst neighboring communities.
Some of our region’s suburbs run
their own separate transit system and the House bill takes funding from Metro
Transit (the dominant provider in the region) to increase their funding for
these small suburban providers. If you
live in communities served by Metro Transit like Inver Grove Heights,
Bloomington, or Lakeville, you will see big cuts in service. Cross the city border to Eagan, Shakopee or
Eden Prairie, and there will be no cuts. Regionalism is at the foundation of
the Twin Cities and this bill divides our region into have and have-not
communities.
If passed, this legislation will devastate the region’s dominant
transit system and force thousands more cars onto the roads. Regionally, our transit system provides 100 million trips a year and 80% of those
trips are either people going to work or school. In downtown Minneapolis, 40% of
workers use transit to get to the job, in Saint Paul, the number is almost 30%. It’s going to be hard to find a
place to park in our downtowns, and when you do it will cost more. At this
critical junction, it is more important than ever that we tell the legislature
why well-funded transit service is important for all our communities.
Sincerely,
Council Member Steve Chávez
The Metropolitan Council is seeking public input on a
proposal to raise transit fares in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Proposed fare increases would affect all regional transit
services, including those operated by Metro Transit, Metro Mobility, the
Metropolitan Council, (including Transit Link and suburban service), and
suburban transit providers (Maple Grove Transit, Minnesota Valley Transit
Authority, Plymouth MetroLink, and SouthWest Transit). Transit fares, under
state law and regional policy must be set on a regional basis and be consistent
across providers.
Learn
more about the proposal and to weigh in.
Demand for Metro Mobility service continues to grow, but legislation that passed in the Minnesota House of Representatives would likely mean cuts in the transportation service for people with disabilities, as well as fare increases.
Transit Link dial-a-ride service is a discretionary program the Council provides in areas where regular-route transit service is not available. The Council would likely be forced to eliminate this service under proposed funding levels, hitting suburban areas especially hard.
As approved by the House, HF861 would increase the projected regional transit deficit from $74 million to $140 million, and fail to meet the needs of the growing disability community. The legislation would force cuts throughout Council transit services, including Metro Transit, Metro Mobility, Transit Link and other transit service under contract to the Council.
The House bill would also require fare increases throughout the transit system, above and beyond what the Council is currently considering.
For Metro Mobility, the current peak-hour fare is $4.00 per ride; $3.00 during off-peak hours. Council officials worry about the effect of further increases on a vulnerable population living on limited incomes.
Budget cuts would reduce Metro Mobility service area and hours
The House bill would fund Metro Mobility with the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) rather than state general funds. But that doesn’t address the effects that cuts to Metro Transit service have on Metro Mobility, nor the continued growth in demand for Metro Mobility.
Read the entire article.
State lawmakers are debating a number of bills this session that would have big implications for metro area public transit. Both the House and Senate have passed initial bills that would lead to service cuts; the proposed budget cuts by the House would lead to service cuts of 40%, impacting dozens of routes.
What’s next
The Senate and House each passed a transportation bill in late March. Those bills will now head to a conference committee, where the differences in the bills will be sorted out before new votes in the House and Senate.
Neither the members of the transportation conference committee, nor a date, for the conference committee has been scheduled at this time. Check back for updates.
In the News
Read the entire article.
On Monday, March 27, Metropolitan Council Chair Adam Duininck, transit advocates, business groups, and local officials urged the House leadership to withdraw their proposed legislation and pursue a sustainable fix to transit funding in the Twin Cities metro region.
View highlights from the press conference.
Every e-newsletter, I
will ask a Council trivia question and the first two people who email the
correct answer, I'll treat them to coffee at their time
and place of choice in the district.
Trivia question: What is our current 2040 long-range regional planning document named?
Email answers to steven.chávez@metc.state.mn.us.
Eagan State of the City - On Wednesday, March 15, I attended the Eagan State of the City. Every year, Mayor Mike Maguire gives a speech describing the vision for the City of Eagan. The speech touched
on many of the economic development highlights the developing suburb has
experienced over the last year—from new retail and restaurants to the Vikings
training facility. The speech was well attended by residents as well as many local chamber members, County Commissioner Tom Egan and members of the city council. |
