With gas prices nearing $4 per gallon and family budgets tight, Snohomish County residents need reliable transit service more than ever. Many families in our community face the impossible choice of putting food on the table or filling up their gas tanks. Whether it’s getting to work, visiting the do
ctor or going to school, good bus service is critical to giving people an alternative to our congested roads and easing the pain at the pump.
Since the mid-1990s, Eyman initiatives and the state Legislature have mandated that transit service be funded by locally collected sales taxes. As a result, more than 70 percent of Community Transit’s operating budget comes from the volatile local sales tax and when people stopped buying taxable goods, the agency’s revenues fell off a cliff. Despite cuts to management and significant austerity measures, the agency is now forced to cut service again this year on top of a 15 percent cut last year.
Community Transit’s funding situation is not unique. Since the recession started, nearly every transit agency in Washington has cut costs, raised fares and eliminated service. Many agencies have asked voters for additional sales tax revenue to stave off painful cuts to bus service, and in the last four years 14 of 18 transit ballot measures in Washington have passed.
Unfortunately, Community Transit can’t ask voters for help, because the agency is maxed out on the amount of sales tax the Legislature allows it to collect. As a result, CT’s hands are tied and the agency has no alternative to massive cuts in bus routes.
The over-reliance on the unstable sales tax and the historic recession have led us into a perfect storm where Community Transit is forced to cut another 20 percent of its service. That’s 35 percent in cuts over the last two years! More than ever we need accessible and frequent bus service to help our community climb out of the recession. Transit service gives everyone better access to jobs, encourages development, and is crucial in attracting and retaining world-class employers who pay living wage salaries in Snohomish County.
Cuts to bus service are more than just statistics and numbers. Last year during the first round of cuts we heard heart-wrenching stories from people with disabilities who can no longer visit their families on Sunday, senior citizens who can’t get to the doctor or church, and swing-shift workers who had to start walking home when their late night bus got cut. Saving and restoring our bus service is not just about budgets and math, it is a pressing social justice issue with very real human impacts.
In the long-term, the Legislature needs to give our community alternatives to the never-ending cuts to transit service. We need a bigger direct state investment in transit operations and more options for how local taxpayers choose to fund their own transit systems. With more voter-approved local options, Community Transit and other transit agencies will have greater financial stability and the ability to save and expand bus service that is crucial to thousands of our residents and our community’s economy.
Until then, we encourage Community Transit to make cuts in a way that impacts the fewest number of riders and maintains frequent service in high use areas. Adopting a plan that impacts the fewest riders will at least assure the greatest number of people can manage tight household budgets and $4 gasoline.
Rob Johnson is executive director of the Transportation Choices Coalition and Julie Meghji is on the Futurewise Board of Directors. Transportation Choices Coalition and Futurewise have launched the Transportation For Washington Campaign, a joint effort focused on the future of transportation funding. For more information visit T4Washington.org.
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