Two Indiana routes among TARC cuts

Clark County

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December 14, 2009

Agency reducing service to offset budget shortfall

By DAVID A. MANN The News and Tribune Mon Dec 14, 2009, 08:54 PM EST

Express busses into New Albany and Clarksville are among five routes being eliminated by public transportation provider TARC.

Route No. 69X, the New Albany express; and Route No. 70X, the Clarksville express, will no longer run after Feb. 21.

In Louisville, Route No. 46X, 26th/42nd G.E. Express; Route No. 96, the West Louisville Circulator; and the Saturday Route No. 22, on Louisville’s 22nd Street, also will be eliminated.

TARC officials voted on proposed service cuts during a Monday morning board of directors’ meeting in Louisville, a press release says. The service cuts are being made as a means of offsetting a $2 million budget shortfall, caused by a decline in occupational tax revenue, officials have said.

Because of high unemployment, TARC has projected that only about $37.5 million would be coming in from occupational taxes, rather than the about $39.5 million it had been expecting.

Initially, 10 routes had been proposed for elimination and 22 had been proposed for service cuts. However, under the plans approved Monday, only five routes will be eliminated and 17 routes will see service cuts.

Annually, the cuts are expected to save about $800,000, according to the press release.

The cuts have been discussed in recent weeks as the agency has held numerous public hearings, including one in New Albany, on the proposal. TARC’s press release said more than 250 comments were collected over the last two weeks and some of the proposed cuts were postponed.

Those will be reviewed further and alternative transportation options and funding sources will be sought. Another round of cuts may be unavoidable at the end of the fiscal year in June, the release said.

“Our goal today is to maintain service at the highest level possible and avoid the downward spiral of lower ridership and reduced fare-box revenue,” said J. Barry Barker, TARC’s executive director, in the release. “We will be working with local, state and federal officials to find money to keep these services. But make no mistake, the situation is dire.”

Route No. 73X, the Charlestown Road Express, is among those still being considered for a future cut.

The routes that have been preserved were slated for elimination because of low ridership, but most riders do not have an alternative travel option. The agency may consider combining low-ridership routes with more productive routes, organizing vanpools or reducing rather than eliminating service on low-ridership routes, the release said. Additionally, those serving large numbers of students may be eliminated in June to give students time to find an alternate means of transportation.

Conversely, Route No. 71, which runs between Louisville and Jeffersonville, will have expanded hours to serve the increase work force at the U. S. Census office.