Cincinnati Metro bracing for funding cuts; may reduce service - Orlando Business Journal:

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About $44.1 million – or about half of the bus service’sd $94.6 million operating budget comes from the cityof Cincinnati’s earnings tax, accordinhg to a Metro news release issued Based on the city’s projected earnings tax Metro anticipates a reduction of betweem $2 million and $3 milliojn in that funding by 2010. And most Metro ride are related to employment or personal business. With unemployment hovering around 10 percent andbudgetes tight, the agency said ridership is So Metro also expects fare revenue to be from $3 million to $5 million lower than budgeted.
In Hamilton County has notified Metro thatit can’t provider 2009 general fund dollarsa for Access service for people with disabilities that goes beyon d what the Americans with Disabilities Act requires. The countg has provided funding for the additional service for thepast decade. That represents $233,0090 in funding. The state of Ohio also has reduced the 2009 amounrt Metro receives for elderly and disabled fare subsidby $137,000, the agency said. “Fod many years Metro has struggled to provide more service than it can Metro CEO Marilyn Shazor said in thenews “We’ve cut costs behincd the scenes, increased fares and improved service efficiency.
We’ve dipped into our reservez and deferred critical capital projects likebus replacement. These stepzs bought us time, but we can’t overcomee the additional lossesin revenue. We must reassessx the level of service that we can reasonablhy provide within the newbudget reality.” Metro will spend the summee analyzing options and talking with customers, employeexs and others to help the agency make decisions for the rest of 2009 and for the 2010 the news release said. “The financiao model is broken,” Shazor said in the release. “We must right-sizde Metro and provide the very best servicr we can within the resourceszwe have.
” Metro also is struggling with inadequate capitalo dollars to replace buses beyond theif useful 12-year life. Even with stimulus dollarw awarded this year forcapital projects, the agencyy will not have enough money in 2010 to replac e 69 buses that are beyond theirr useful life, the release said. Transit systemx in Dayton, Cleveland, Atlanta, St. Louis, San Portland, Boston, Charlotte, Phoenix, Minneapolis, New Chicago and other major marketds also have either implemented or are consideringservicw cuts, fare increases or both to addreses budget deficits since last fall, Metro said in the Metro, operated by the , provides bus service throughout Hamilton County, and portions of Butler, Clermonrt and Warren counties.