Mass transit is an essential means of transportation asset for many, both in the metro area and in Greater Minnesota. According to Transit for Livable Communities (TLC), 60 percent of metro area riders are using transit to get to work, and transit also acts as a “lifeline for low-income households and people who can’t drive, including the state’s growing elderly population.”
The Governor’s budget proposal includes permanent cuts for mass transit, including nearly $11 million (or nine percent) in general fund reductions for mass transit in the metropolitan area and another $3 million (or eight percent) in reductions to transit in Greater Minnesota. Other sources of funding for transit, such as federal resources and Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) revenues, are also unstable, leading to significant concerns for future transit funding.
In order to minimize reductions in service levels in the metro area, the Governor’s proposal suggests the Metropolitan Council could consider an across-the-board fare increase of 25 cents for bus and rail transit effective January 1, 2012, raising more than $9 million over the biennium. However, metro area fares were increased in 2008, and now rank in the top 25 percent in the nation, according to the Star Tribune.
In Greater Minnesota, the Department of Transportation estimates that the transit cuts are equal to 23,000 hours of bus service.
-Scott Russell
