Bus Riders Union of Austin, Texas | El Sindicato de Pasajeros

Viewpoint: Captial Metro must heed public's input

Jillian Sheridan

Daily Texan Editorial Board
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/opinion/viewpoint-captial-metro-must-hee...
Thursday, August 13, 2009

There is still no good news on the Capital Metro front. Once again, Austin’s considerable bus-riding community will have to suffer the consequences of Cap Metro’s dysfunctional mismanagement.

On Monday, the Capital Metro Board considered steeper, more immediate fare increases.

The new proposal, a response to low revenue and depleted reserves, is even more dramatic than the ones previously approved — perhaps the most recent sign of Cap Metro’s financial desperation.

A year ago, the board and a committee of locally elected officials approved a two-step fare increase to double base fares. The first step of the plan went into effect last October, and fares increased by 50 percent or more.

Now, Cap Metro is planning for the second phase to begin in August 2010, according to the Austin American-Statesman. In an effort to boost agency revenue to $3.1 million in the next fiscal year, the proposed change will move the original August date up to January, according to the Statesman.

This rash decision to scrape an extra few million dollars out of riders’ pockets is a telltale sign of Cap Metro’s serious financial problems.

First, Cap Metro’s reserves have shrunk from $200 million to less than $10 million since 2002. Then, at its May 18 meeting, the board authorized opening a $10 million line of credit.

Even after those initiatives, more than 70 percent of Cap Metro’s revenue this past fiscal year — approximately $150 million dollars — came from sales taxes in Austin and surrounding areas, while 11 percent came from fares. And it isn’t a secret that a portion of every UT student’s fees goes to Cap Metro for bus service on campus.

With its record speaking for itself, Cap Metro suffers from chronic mismanagement that does nothing to serve the organization’s core purpose of providing decent and affordable public transportation for Austin residents and the city’s visitors.

Not only have its reserves decreased substantially, but the new MetroRail system has been delayed by more than a year — with no end date in sight, according to the organization’s latest update on the system.

As far as increased fares go, Monday’s Cap Metro meeting included details of the increases and some citizen input, but did not discuss the issue or vote.

Interestingly, Cap Metro staff members interpreted this as permission to move forward, according to the Statesman. Public meetings on the increased, expedited fare raises should start in late August, and the board will vote on them sometime in September.

Those who depend on and contribute to Cap Metro must use this time to provide input on the plan and to ask those who manage one of Austin’s most important resources why their tax dollars are no longer enough.