HomeMy WebLinkAbout(2) TRANSIT SERVICE REPORTCITY OF PORT ARTHUR
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor and City Council~
Stephen Fitzgibbons, C~l(yq~anager
April 20, 2007
Impact of Re-establishing Saturday Service
Saturday service
In fiscal year 1995, due to financial issues that the City was facing, and in light of low ridership,
Saturday service was discontinued. At that time we averaged about 700 passengers on Saturday, half the
Monday through Friday average. Based upon the funding available from Federal and State resources,
resuming Saturday service would be costly to the City.
Status of Current Fanding
Funding for Transit service is comprised of Federal, State and City resources. For fiscal 2006, operating
costs for Monday through Friday service was $1,785,594. The passenger revenues for both fixed ronte
and door-to-door transportation services were $106,398 (6% of the operating expenses). The remaining
94% of cost ($1,679,196) was funded 50% ($839,598) from the Federal Transit Administration, State
(TxDOT) paid 21% ($352,741) and the City paid the remaining 29% ($486,857). In transporting
137,128 passengers, the average cost per trip, system wide, was $12.24 ($6.12 federal cost, $2.57 state
cost, and $3.55 City cost).
The Federal Transit Administration subsidizes the Transit Department at 50% for net operating
expenses. For 2007, the total Federal allocation appropriation is $1,544,642. This funding "cap" must
cover both the operating subsidy and 80% of any new capital that will be required to maintain the
current service levels. We expect to expend 100% of this allocation for current operating and capital
requirements. Should costs exceed the funding available, all additional expenses would be the City's
responsibility - 100%.
At the State level, participation has been declining steadily. TxDOT has advised that there is a 10%
decrease in their 2007 allocated funding and this reduction trend is expected to continue in furore
funding years. Based on ridership and expected reductions in State and Federal Funding, I believe the
City will be challenged to maintain existing levels of service.
In order to reestablish Saturday service, we are projecting an increase in operating cost of approximately
$500,000. This is the amount necessary to run an eight to ten hour service. With the current funding
configuration, utilizing the Federal funds allocated for current service levels, the City will be required to
fund the entire cost of Saturday service.
The Future of Transit Services
The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission is proposing a Transit Developmant Plan (TDP)
which will review the existing service provided and future service needs and corresponding financial
plan necessary to meet projected needs of the region. It is hopeful that the outcome of the study could
be a specific transit service policy to be adopted, actions with regard to financing, appropriate
adjustment of fixed route and demand response transit service, and plans for continuing monitoring and
revision of the services in future years.
We are currently one of the smallest Cities in the state of Texas that have a fixed route and Paratransit
transportation system. We have relatively little ridership and system revenue pays only 6% of costs.
With expected reductions in Federal and State funding it is likely that any new cost would be entirely at
the City's expense. Therefore, if Saturday service increases costs $500,000, our share would not be 29%
of the $500,000, but more likely 97% of the cost. This would basically double the City's share of transit
funding from about $500,000 to $1,000,000 per year.