CC Minutes - 02/17/10 Work Session

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Mr. Vobora stated that 83 percent of LTD's dollars went to put buses on the streets and LTD could not capture much in the way of savings from the other 17 percent. He said most of the ridership happened along the main corridors and they wanted to maintain that service. He related that they also wanted to maintain an urban route frequency of 60 minutes. He noted that LTD had to meet Title 5 requirements. He provided a map of routes and noted that LTD would still maintain a good level of coverage. Mr. Vobora said LTD had a goal of saving $3 million, with $2.6 million recouped in service cuts. He pointed out that the budget gap was $6 million and LTD was taking this in "two bites." He stated that core routes would continue to be run seven days a week, from 6:30 a.m. to 1 0:45 p.m. He noted that some districts were cutting weekend service and shortening hours to meet budget gaps. Continuing, Mr. Vobora reiterated that service would still be adequate for the corridors, though at current service levels people were sometimes left at stops during the busy travel times. He said they had done their best to attack the lower productivity segments of routes. Mr. Vobora highlighted the public outreach process in which LTD had engaged, which included public forums and participating in public activities, such as the Spanish mass at a local church. Mayor Piercy likened losing transit routes at this time to "putting the engine in reverse." People had expressed concern to her about increasing fares. She had also heard people wondering if there was a way for LTD to diversify its funds and whether people were being invoiced for the transit tax. Mr. Vobora clarified that the Department of Revenue was the taxing authority and passed the revenue along to them. He related that years earlier LTD had an intern who had done some research and tracked down the records of some people who had not paid the tax. Mayor Piercy said they needed to find a way across jurisdictions to gain unified support to talk to Congress in order to be a stronger voice in letting them know what was missing in funding. Mr. Eyster remarked that LTD was fortunate that its board vice president, Greg Evans, was very active in the national organization. Mr. Evans said Mr. Eyster would be going on the United Front lobbying trip. He averred that the more people who spoke up on behalf of LTD, the better. He stated that he would be attending the American Public Transit Association (APTA) legislative conference in Washington, D.C. shortly after the United Front trip. He noted that he served on a couple of committees, the Transit Board Members Committee and as the Region 6 Representative for the United States. He said they would be stressing to legislators that they needed operations relief and some creative ways to encourage local and state governments to make it worthwhile to invest in transit operations. He pointed to the goals of reducing carbon emissions and reducing traffic congestion, but the incentives to do that with public transit were not there. He related that APTA was trying to suggest creative solutions in order to get more people out of cars and onto buses and to increase investment in transit. He felt they were in a unique position at present. He noted that Senator Harry Reid had sought to make cuts in the Surface Transportation legislation. He underscored that whatever support they could get from their jurisdictional partners would help LTD in its lobbying efforts. Ms. Taylor asked what kinds of transit alternatives were available. Mr. Vobora responded that if someone lived in a neighborhood where a route had been eliminated they might not have an alternative. He said the. alternatives included potential carpooling, bicycling to buses and then putting the bicycle on the rack on the bus and, for seniors and people with disabilities, there was the Ride Source service. MINUTES Eugene City Council February 17, 2010 Page 6 Work Session