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Metro bus riders who think the long delay in raising fares by 25 cents on most routes is a good thing might want to reconsider, according to the bus system's operator. The transit agency describes the situation as short-term gain that ultimately could bring long-term pain for consumers.
The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) asked Cincinnati officials to approve the fare increase in December. Because the agency hadn't sought any increase since 2005, SORTA board members thought the request would be quickly granted and the higher fares would take effect by late January.
Five months later, city council still hasn't voted on the matter as elected officials quietly ponder SORTA's future. The delay is costing SORTA about $40,000 each week in expected additional revenue, for a cumulative loss of nearly $500,000 since February.
The money was allocated to help replace aging buses as they become worn out, says Michael Setzer, SORTA's general manager. Each of Metro's standard buses costs roughly $350,000 and lasts an average of 12 years before the constant daily usage makes repairs unfeasible and they must be replaced.
Metro is facing a roughly $35 million deficit in its capital budget over the next few years due to factors such as soaring diesel fuel costs and dwindling state funding, Setzer says. Bus replacement costs, at $20 million, are the largest portion of the deficit, and the fare increase was designed to help offset the deficit by $2 million while SORTA sought additional savings elsewhere.
Without the extra money from the fare hike, however, Metro won't be able to keep pace with its bus replacement schedule. As a result, service could be reduced or some bus routes eliminated as early as next year.
County service, city expense
SORTA — which operates the bus system using mostly a combination of city, state and federal funding — has asked Mayor Mark Mallory and city council's Finance Committee several times to hold a vote on the fare increase. Without a clear decision, the agency has been reluctant to make contingency plans that could include decisions that will be painful for some bus riders.
"For the last four or five months we've tried to get it put on the agenda so it can be voted up or down," says Lamont Taylor, president of SORTA's board of trustees. "We're not looking for a fistfight with the city, but it's our obligation as board members to tell them this is our situation."
The bus replacement deficit will begin in January, when six buses are due for replacement. Another 35 buses will need to be replaced in 2009, and 58 are scheduled for replacement in 2010.
"The longer it goes on, the more it affects our operations," Taylor says.
City Councilman John Cranley, who chairs the Finance Committee, isn't convinced. He believes SORTA hasn't taken sufficient steps in the past few years to reduce its administrative costs.
"Times are tough all over," he says. "We've cut down the size of city government and had hiring freezes and things like that at City Hall, and they need to tighten their belts, too."
SORTA is an independent agency, but any fare increase requires city council's approval because about half of Metro's $73.5 million annual budget comes from a portion of the city's earnings tax. The city has contracted with SORTA to provide bus service since 1973, but the original funding plan called for Hamilton County to pick up some of the costs. After county voters defeated a tax levy in the 1970s, however, that plan never came to fruition.
Cranley, a frequent SORTA critic, has long been dissatisfied with what he describes as the agency's unfair funding structure. He wants Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties to help pay more of the cost, because suburban commuters use the system to get in and out of downtown Cincinnati to avoid driving in rush hour traffic and paying parking fees.
In recent years, ridership on Metro's express routes increased 8 percent, and its service to fast-growing West Chester has risen 19 percent, statistics indicate.
"We cannot sustain a regional transit system that's primarily funded by the city taxpayer," Cranley says. "We need a broader buy-in."
To make his case, he notes that the city gives SORTA about $43 million annually while Hamilton County provides nothing. Despite that fact, the county appoints five of the nine members on SORTA's board of trustees, giving it majority control.
"Is that fair?" Cranley says. "I don't think so."
Among the city's appointees are former State Rep. William Mallory Sr., the mayor's father, and ex-Mayor Roxanne Qualls.
At a SORTA board meeting earlier this month, both of the appointees indicated they supported the push of higher fares after careful review. Qualls said the consequences of not approving the increase should be clearly outlined for the public, while Mallory said people should consider, "What happens if we don't have a transit system in this town?"
Dump SORTA?
SORTA Board Member Peg Gutsell, who is legally blind and represents disabled riders, wants to better publicize the choices facing the transit agency due to the deficit. If riders then decide to contact their elected officials, so be it.
"They can actively influence the decision-makers we're waiting on," Gutsell says.
Cranley recently met with Hamilton County commissioners to negotiate a new funding approach and says an announcement could happen within the next month. Meanwhile, he cautions SORTA not to press for a vote on fare hikes because it probably wouldn't pass.
"I'm against it," Cranley says. "I haven't put it for a vote because I don't think a majority supports it."
SORTA wants to raise fares by 25 cents across the board. Under the plan, the cost for travel within Cincinnati's city limits would jump from $1 to $1.25 and from $2.25 to $2.50 in outlying suburbs in Butler and Warren counties.
The fare increase would only partially help the deficit, board members say. They also are seeking more federal and state funding and making changes to fleet management.
One option that city council and county commissioners have considered is shifting bus system oversight from SORTA to the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District. City council may cancel the deal with SORTA at any time with a six-month notice and allocate the transit tax dollars to another agency or company.
A person closely connected to the SORTA negotiations privately says city council is letting the agency "wither on the vine" to avoid making difficult decisions.
"They've made SORTA kind of a lame duck," the person says.
As a way to cut the agency's costs, Cranley is offering SORTA rent-free space at City Hall for its administrative offices once its lease at the Kroger Building expires in two years. The agency pays about $250,000 annually in rent there.
If approved, the fare proposal would result in a cumulative increase of more than 55 percent since 2004 for some routes, but SORTA officials say the Metro system still would have some of the lowest base fares in the nation. For example, transit officials in Tampa, Fla., are seeking a jump to a $1.75 base fare.
Some of SORTA's biggest costs are outside its control. For example, diesel fuel costs have jumped from 60 cents per gallon in 1998 to $2.28 per gallon this year. During the same period state funding has dropped from $3.7 million to $825,000 annually.
Part of SORTA's funding dilemma is caused by previous administrators keeping bus fares artificially low. A former manager was able to keep base rates at just 65 cents from 1992 to 2005 by using federal grant money intended for bus replacement. If the agency had been allowed to raise fares to match inflation during that period, the base rate would have risen to $1.04. ©
