News - Local News

POSTED: Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008

WTA budget would cut expenses but not bus service in '09

In Richard Walsh's 30-year career at Whatcom Transportation Authority, he's never seen a budget as bare bones as the one he's proposing for 2009. But, he says, riders won't see a difference in bus service next year.

Cuts throughout the budget would reduce planned expenses by $4.83 million in 2009, but most of those are to behind-the-scenes operations, delays in bus purchases or cuts to buying new technologies.

"If we did our job, the public should notice no fall off of service performance or quality as a result of these cuts," said Walsh, general manager of WTA. "We tried to push those they wouldn't notice at all."

The WTA board of directors would meet to discuss and vote on the budget next month.

WTA officials are wary of cutting service and punishing new riders who were lured en masse to riding the bus during record high gas prices. Even as gas has fallen below $2 a gallon at some places in Bellingham, many of those people have continued to ride, driving ridership to record numbers. Between October 2007 and October 2008, ridership grew 26 percent.

Ridership is expected to increase 17.6 percent next year.

In revenue estimates prepared weeks ago, staff predicted total revenue in 2009 would drop 2.1 percent compared to the 2008 budget because of decreases in sales tax revenue and interest from investments. Even now, weeks later, in their quest to predict what consumer spending would look like, Walsh said the draft budget's sales tax estimate may be optimistic.

Here's a sample of the cuts in the now $34.8 million budget proposal:

-- Six now-vacant positions would be eliminated.

-- Replacement of 12 aging paratransit buses would be delayed for one year.

-- A new bus parking yard near the main office has been delayed (they figured out how to free up space in the current yard).

-- A consultant contract to develop specifications for new technologies on new buses, like automated passenger counting, wireless Internet and automated vehicle locators, won't be funded. The locating technology could have allowed riders to track their bus on the Internet and find out whether it's on time.

-- Funding for retrofitting current buses with new technologies has been cut. Staff may still decide to install surveillance cameras on existing buses, Walsh said. Three buses already have cameras, as do the stations.

-- Printings of bus schedules have been reduced. They would print only one transit guide next year instead of two.

-- Replacement of agency phones has been delayed until 2010.

To make ends meet, the budget calls for dipping into the agency's savings, but even after pulling $2.48 million out, the agency would still have a reserve of $20.3 million in 2009. Much of that money is designated for specific purposes, like replacing buses, and can't be used in a different way.