Community Transit Public Hearing

Agency Proposes 25-Cent Fare Increase, Service Cuts and Suspensions

January 8, 2010

Ongoing recession impacts drive need to close $11 million budget gap

Snohomish County, Wash. - For the third year in a row, Community Transit has had to make cuts to its budget because of lower revenues due to the economic recession. The agency cut about $14 million in staff, training and marketing over the past two years that did not impact customers. For 2010, the agency is proposing a major cut in service, as well as a fare increase for local bus and DART paratransit customers, that would take effect in June.

Service cuts and suspensions
Nearly all of Community Transit’s 64 local and commuter bus routes would be affected in an effort to eliminate service that is duplicated by other providers, streamline routes and make existing service more efficient. The agency is also proposing to suspend all service on Sundays and major holidays, including DART paratransit service and Swift bus rapid transit. By closing its base on these lower ridership days, the agency achieves 47 percent of the proposal’s savings with only 35 percent of total service hours cut and an impact to fewer customers.

Combined, these proposed service cuts and suspensions would save the agency $5 million in the second half of 2010 and $11 million in 2011.

Fare increase
The proposed fare increase would raise local bus and DART fares by 25 cents for all fare categories: youth, adult and reduced fare (senior/disabled/Medicare). Even with the proposed fare increase, Community Transit’s local bus fares would be comparable with other local transit fares in the region. The proposed fare increase would raise about $250,000 in the second half of 2010 and $500,000 in 2011.

“This is an unavoidable situation and we’ve held off as long as we could, but like most other businesses we’ve been hard hit by the economy and it’s now impacting our customers,” said CEO Joyce Eleanor.

Route-by-route details of the proposal are posted online and available on buses. A video featuring CEO Joyce Eleanor that outlines the agency’s economic situation and provides information on the proposals also is posted on the agency’s website, as well as on YouTube and Facebook.

“I realize that some people depend on Sunday and holiday transit service, but without this move we would need to propose deeper cuts to service every other day when even more people would be impacted,” said Eleanor. “This is a service suspension and we will make these cuts the highest priority to be restored as soon as the agency can financially do so.”

Eleanor and staff will host five community meetings throughout January at which details of the proposal will be shared, and riders and members of the public can ask questions.

On Feb. 4, the Community Transit Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on the proposal at its regular monthly meeting, at 3 p.m. in the Community Transit Board Room, 7100 Hardeson Road, Everett. The board is expected to take action on the proposal on March 4. If approved, the fare increase would go into effect on June 1 and service cuts on June 13.