PUBLIC TRANSIT Busing systems discuss split of federal funds

Next year marks the first time three transit systems will share the funding.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Three major busing systems in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys are working to agree on funding formulas without knowing how much money is as stake.
Representatives from Western Reserve Transit Authority in Youngstown, Niles-Trumbull Transit System in Niles and Shenango Valley Shuttle Service in Hermitage, Pa., will meet Tuesday in Niles to hammer out more details for the funding split.
Representatives from the three agencies previously met in October to discuss the funding situation.
Kathy Zook, senior planner with the Eastgate Council of Regional Governments, noted the groups are working out a tentative split using figures from 2004, since 2005 amounts aren't available yet.
"The legislation hasn't been signed yet, so we don't know what figure we will be working with," Zook said. "Congress and the president have yet to sign off on the legislation."
Once a budget is passed, roughly $2.7 million or more is expected to come to the area to support the transit systems. Funding for 2004 to the area was $2.72 million.
But 2005 marks the first time three transit systems will share the funding, after the Federal Transit Authority redrew its urbanized boundary lines.
Zook said based on 2000 Census figures, the FTA combined the WRTA and SVSS into one area, starting with 2004 funding.
The FTA does not determine how the money will be split among transit systems in an urbanized area. Those decisions are left up to the local entities.
To date, WRTA and SVSS have not signed an agreement on splitting 2004 funding.
NTTS, which started a little more than a year ago, was added to the mix for 2005. Despite the lack of agreement between WRTA and SVSS for 2004, the three entities met in Youngstown last month and will meet in Hermitage if a third meeting is deemed necessary.
Mark Hess, engineer and grant coordinator for the city of Niles, said so far, he sees negotiations going well.
"We made quite a bit of headway in the first meeting," Hess said. "I'm pretty pleased with how it went, actually."
Hess noted the agencies will not split the federal money evenly, since ridership and operation costs differ for each system. WRTA has the most riders, and it and SVSS operate as fixed-route systems, while NTTS is a demand-response busing system.
Based on 2004 figures, though, SVSS is asking for roughly $400,000, while NTTS is seeking about $276,000.
slshaulis@vindy.com