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Cutting of $790K halts YSU-EGCC plan
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A WRTA bus heads southbound along Market Street through Federal Plaza in downtown Youngstown as the sun rises Friday morning.
YOUNGSTOWN
A planned route between Youngstown State University and Eastern Gateway Community College in Warren is on hold after a state agency rescinded transit grants.
The Western Reserve Transit Authority was awarded a $790,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation in January. The grant was part of a three-year, $150 million funding pledge to public-transit agencies around the state from former Gov. Ted Strickland. ODOT Director Jerry Wray announced Tuesday that the amount has been cut.
“We knew this was coming,” said James Ferraro, WRTA executive director.
Ferraro said he expected cuts in state funding for public transit from Gov. John Kasich’s administration as it tries to close an $8 billion budget deficit.
The Strickland administration pledged $50 million for the 2011 fiscal year, and, of that, $40 million already has been distributed. But the remaining $10 million for new transit services is being rescinded, said David Rose, ODOT public-information officer.
“None of those new services have begun or were started. They were still in planning phases,” Rose said.
Rose said that ODOT is proposing pledging $20 million for public transit in 2012 and 2013, as well as continuing to invest another $20 million annually.
The pledge proposal in the budget would still have to be approved by the state Legislature, he added.
The $790,000 grant was to be used for a connector between Youngstown, Girard, Niles and Warren — a service that is still needed, said Tom Nugen, WRTA director of transportation.
“We really do feel that the Warren and Youngstown university route would be good,” Nugen said.
Just last week, the Niles Trumbull Transit System, a countywide busing service, notified the Trumbull County commissioners that it will stop operations at year’s end.
Although the priority is on service for Mahoning County residents, the connection loop would have helped “make inroads and move in that direction” of more service between the two counties, Ferraro said.
Even with this loss, the amount now proposed by ODOT is actually more than public transit has received in the past, Ferraro said.
“Quite frankly, our funding operations-wise from the state is minimum, but they have helped with capital projects and vehicles,” he said, noting that WRTA receives less than $100,000 from the state for operating expenses. At one time, the state provided more than $900,000.
The state “can’t really hurt us that much. We were hoping that the $150 million would stay there and a lot of [transit] systems would be more comfortable. We’re one of the few that will be all right. We went from property tax generating $2.4 million [annually] to a sales tax ... that generates closer to $5.5 million,” Ferraro said.
WRTA will keep the $600,000 grant promised to it by ODOT in December for three “clean and green” buses that will run a new route in Austintown.
Overall, Ferraro said ridership increased from 1,027,196 in 2009 to 1,261,827 in 2010. Most riders use WRTA to get to work, he said.
Ferraro credited expanded service into areas such as New Middletown, North Lima, Green and Sebring and also the popularity of the door-to-door service for the ridership increase.
“We have a better presence in the southern part of the county, and people see it a little more,” Ferraro said.