DENVER—Dozens of people from Colorado’s rural Park County recently pleaded with the city of Denver to keep their lifeline to work: the 5:17 a.m. bus.
At stake was “Route U,” one of several “underperforming” routes where the Regional Transportation District planned to trim service because of fuel prices. The U would be scrapped altogether.
“You would put a lot of people out of work if you took their bus away from them,” said engineer Martin Wirth, one of about 40 people fighting to save the U at the RTD meeting.
“Our community is approximately 40 miles away from downtown Denver. For many of our mountain commuters, it is the only form of transportation that these people have,” said Pam Beckhorn, an executive assistant and president of the Riders285 Coalition, so named because the U follows Highway 285.
Like their counterparts across the country, RTD officials face a paradox: People are using public transportation more than ever, but higher fuel costs—and lower sales tax revenues—are forcing them to trim routes, sometimes at the expense of people who depend on them for work.
Losing the U would mean a rush of Denver-bound cars on winding Highway 285, Beckhorn said.
“In the winter it’s extremely dangerous,” said Beckhorn. “On the bus it usually takes about three hours in severe weather. I would not want to be behind the wheel.”
According to a May survey by the American Public Transportation Association, about one in five of the nation’s transit agencies have cut service over the past year. They include Cleveland, Corpus Christi, Texas, and San Diego, which has seen one of the largest increases in bus ridership in the country.
Higher gas prices also mean people are spending more at the pump and less on other items, driving down sales tax revenues that most transit agencies rely on. Sales taxes are the biggest source of funding for most transit agencies, making up about 45 percent on average, said Rose Sheridan, an APTA spokeswoman.
Agencies paid an average of $1.25 per gallon of diesel in 2004 and $3.32 this year, according to the APTA survey.
At the same time, APTA says people took 2.6 billion trips on public transportation nationwide in the first three months of 2008—almost 88 million more than last year.
The highest ridership increases came in light rail and commuter rail. In light rail, Baltimore, Minneapolis, St. Louis and San Francisco all saw double-digit percentage increases over the first quarter of 2007. Double-digit percentage increases for commuter rail were posted in Oakland, Calif., Harrisburg, Penn., and Philadelphia, among others. Seattle’s increase was almost 28 percent, APTA said.
Bonnie Arnold, with the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, said the commuter rail system there saw a 46.7 percent ridership increase this June compared to June 2007.
“It’s just been mind-boggling,” said Arnold, whose district serves Miami Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties.
In Denver, the RTD’s 2008 operating budget is $458 million for 170 routes, six of which are light rail. The district, which serves eight counties with a population of about 2.6 million, is on pace to carry 100 million passengers this year, a record in its 35-year history, said spokesman Scott Reed.
But the RTD will be about $6 million over budget this year on fuel. It budgeted for $2.62 per gallon but is paying $3.20, Reed said.
Fuel costs also make building materials needed to expand infrastructure more expensive, said Clarence W. Marsella, RTD’s general manager and CEO.
“Everything that we do is being undermined by the fuel crisis,” Marsella said. “It’s really diabolical. The tentacles are everywhere.”
About 80 percent of RTD’s funding comes from sales taxes; the rest comes from fares and advertising, Marsella said. Sales tax collections will be down $18.8 million this year, Reed said.
Of that, $11.3 million would have gone to fund RTD’s operations. The rest would fund the FasTracks program, a plan to expand bus and rail service.
Anticipating rising fuel costs, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority cut 5 percent of its bus lines in December—and more hearings on possible cuts are slated for August. The district’s fuel spending will surpass $20 million this year, compared to $12 million in 2007, said spokesman Jerry Masek.
One option being considered is adding a fuel surcharge to fares. If approved, any changes would be implemented in early October, Masek said.
In Corpus Christi, the Regional Transportation Authority is not running as many buses as before, said spokeswoman Kristi Pena.
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System also has reduced service, raised fares, and laid off workers, said spokesman Rob Schupp. High fuel costs account for about $2 million of its $6.5 million deficit, with lower sales tax revenues and state funding accounting for the rest.
Denver’s RTD, which at 9.4 percent saw the highest bus ridership increase behind San Antonio, Texas, is bracing for $5 a gallon diesel prices in 2009, Reed said. So the district has to cut or reduce service on its underperforming routes—those in the bottom 10 percent of RTD’s overall bus ridership, according to Reed.
Which is what brought the Riders285 Coalition to the RTD board meeting. Route U is considered underperforming because an average of 18 people ride the bus on each of its four daily runs.
For Denver-bound commuters used to taking the bus, a daily 80-mile car trip would hurt financially, Beckhorn said. A one-way U ticket costs $4; discount passes are available.
“People always bring that up—what a financial burden it is on the commuter,” she said.
John Tighe, a Park County commissioner, told RTD officials the U is the rural area’s only public transportation—and that about three quarters of county residents work outside the county. It’s communities with less 100,000 people, like Park County, that have seen the largest increase in bus travel, according to APTA’s Sheridan.
“We rely on them,” Beckhorn said. “They really are our lifeline from the mountains to our jobs.”
Group members wore and gave board members T-shirts that read, “Go Green. Ride The Drive.” They pleaded with the board to give them a chance to increase ridership.
One light rail route south of Denver, known as the G Line, was saved from elimination when its passenger volume doubled the month before it was to be cut.
In the end, the board voted to keep Route U, despite its $375,000 yearly cost. Supporters posed on a stairway for a celebratory picture.
“We are the little mouse that roared,” Beckhorn said.
Others weren’t so lucky. The board approved service reductions to save $2.8 million annually. The casualties included a bus route serving suburban Boulder, Longmont, and Littleton and reduced service on 11 other routes, including a run to Denver International Airport. The G Line now runs four times in the morning and four times in the evening, Reed said. It used to have 44 trips a day.
Daria Serna, an RTD spokeswoman, said an estimated 600 people will be affected, but noted they will have access to other routes. The changes take effect in August.
Another RTD cost-cutting measure will affect U riders: It’s imposing a $2 to $4 daily fee on its park-and-ride lots. The move affects about 12 percent of riders who live outside of the taxing district, including Park County.
“I think the parking fee is definitely going to have an impact,” Beckhorn said. “I think people are going to say, ‘I can’t afford those two bucks a day.'”
