Governor says Yes to Transit as Ridership Hits Record Levels

Saint Paul, MN (January 18, 2012)—Transit advocates celebrated Governor Mark Dayton’s inclusion of transit projects in his list of bonding priorities, including $25 million for the Southwest Light Rail Transit line and $10 million for transit facilities in Duluth, Mankato, and Saint Cloud. His support comes as demand for transit is reaching record levels.

 

Metro Transit reported Tuesday that 2011 ridership exceeded 80 million for only the second time in the last 30 years. Coupled with complimentary service provided by suburban transit providers and Metro Mobility, total ridership jumped to 94 million in 2011, according to the Metropolitan Council.

 

“The Governor has his priorities in sync with demand and future trends. We look to the legislature to follow suit. These transit bonding projects will make Minnesota’s transportation system more affordable and more effective,” said Barb Thoman, executive director of Transit for Livable Communities, a non-partisan organization with more than 10,000 members. “Southwest LRT is the next major link in the transit network and state bonding support enables the Twin Cities to compete with peer regions, such as Denver, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Seattle, for federal matching funding.”

 

Recently moved up to the “preliminary engineering” phase by the Federal Transit Administration, the SW LRT becomes one in 12 systems in the U.S. poised to receive a full-funding grant agreement. This will mean that $1 in state funds will leverage an additional $9 in funds from other levels of government, including county and federal. The largest portion of capital costs (50%) will be borne by the federal government.

 

The Southwest LRT will connect Eden Prairie to Minneapolis and, via linkages to the Central Corridor and Hiawatha lines, connect the region’s top job centers: downtown Minneapolis, downtown Saint Paul, the University of Minnesota, Bloomington and the Mall of America, and Opus/Golden Triangle.

 

“Demand for transit is rising, but only 15% of jobs and 25% of households are readily served by moderate frequency transit. For individuals to make ends meet and our region to thrive, we need to fund more access to transit, including bus, rail, and bus rapid transit.” said Thoman.

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PAYING MORE FOR LESS— GOVERNOR SHOULD VETO TRANSPORTATION BILL

For Immediate Release  May 20, 2011
Contact: Hilary Reeves, Transit for Livable Communities, 651-789-1415; 612-554-1795 (evenings); hilaryr@tlcminnesota.org
Jenna Wade, Fresh Energy, 651-726-7568 (days); 612-819-7282 (cell); wade@fresh-energy.org

(Saint Paul, Minn.), May 20, 2011—A coalition of organizations agrees that the transportation bill passed by the House and Senate last night moves Minnesota backwards and should be vetoed by Governor Dayton.

“With $4.00 per gallon gas, more people are turning to transit to get work and make their own budgets balance,” said Barb Thoman, executive director of Transit for Livable Communities. “Cutting transit is not smart for Minnesota, for today or tomorrow. Governor Dayton should veto this bill.”

The transportation bill cuts $109.3 million from metro area transit and $7.6 million from Greater Minnesota transit. In the metro area, the bill would make people pay more for a smaller bus system. The Metropolitan Council says the cuts would lead to a 30% reduction in regular route service and a 50 cent fare increase.

The resulting base fare of $2.25 would make Metro Transit fares the highest in the country, deterring ridership and stressing household budgets. More than 100,000 people get to work every day on metro area transit. According to the Met Council, 27,000 of these riders would be lost, either back driving on increasingly congested roads or unable to get to work, school, and other key destinations each day.

Representative Terry Morrow (DFL, Saint Peter), said, “Today's Transportation budget bill throws Greater Minnesota's transit systems into reverse. Bus and dial-a-ride service will suffer---as will the seniors, students, disabled persons, workers and others who rely upon transit for getting to work, school, the doctor, church, grocery stores, and family and friends.”

Cuts to Transit out of Step with Business, Gen Y, and the Market

Throughout the legislative session, business leaders have challenged the cuts to transit. “Bold investment in transit attracts business. We see transit as critical to retain employees and businesses,” said Charlie Zelle, representing the Minneapolis Regional Chamber, at a transportation hearing earlier this session.

Yet, the Twin Cities lags behind competing cities, such as Denver and Seattle, in transit funding and ridership. The Twin Cities region also ranks 39th in the nation among metropolitan areas in extent of transit service to jobs, according to “Missed Opportunities,” a Brookings Institution report.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Generation Y (aged 30 and younger) are the largest demographic of homebuyers and increasingly desire walkable neighborhoods with convenient transit. Real estate forecasters indicate, too, that when the economy recovers, growth will no longer be at the edge of the metro but in areas where there are opportunities to connect housing and jobs. The 2010 Census already suggests that young families are moving back into inner ring suburbs. 

As the Governor and legislature work to find a solution to the state’s budget deficit, there are solutions that preserve vital transit service:

• As the Governor has indicated, the solution should include increased revenue to preserve vital services and position Minnesota for a strong future.
• The legislature could vote for an equal 50/50 allocation of revenues from the motor vehicle sales tax (MVST) to roads and transit. Transit currently receives 40% of this revenue. A fair split would raise close to $50 million per year, offsetting most of the $117 million biennium cuts to transit statewide included in HF 1140. Closing various exemptions to the MVST tax would also raise significant revenue.

Transit is a critical lifeline for seniors and the disabled throughout the state. Transit also benefits all road users by moving people far more efficiently than cars, thereby reducing the need for costly road expansion. Minnesotans deserve a transportation finance bill that moves the state forward, not backward.  

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Sent on behalf of Transit Partners:

Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1005,Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, Envision Minnesota, Fresh Energy, Isaiah, Twin Cities LISC, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Minnesota Housing Partnership, MPIRG, Sierra Club, Transit for Livable Communities

Signs at the Capitol—for Transit!

For Immediate Release  May 10, 2011 

Contact: 
Hilary Reeves, Transit for Livable Communities, 651-789-1415 (days); 612-554-1795 (evenings); hilaryr@tlcminnesota.org
Amber Collett, Transit for Livable Communities, 651-789-1416 (days), amberc@tlcminnesota.org

 

 

Saint Paul, Minn (May 10, 2011)— At the Capitol today, voices of thousands of transit riders from across the state were heard—in the form of postcards and signs representing cities where people use transit to get where they need to go. A roll call of cities was read in the Capitol Rotunda—Lakeville, Shakopee, Eden Prairie, Brooklyn Center, Osseo, Woodbury, and many more.

House and Senate transportation bills are now in conference committee. The House bill cuts the entire general fund allocation to transit, $130 million. The Senate bill cuts $32 million. The House cuts, if enacted, would lead to significant losses of weekday routes and the end of weekend bus service, according to testimony last week from Metropolitan Council Chair, Sue Haigh. Transit service in counties across the state would also be reduced or eliminated. Jennifer Munt, a member of the Met Council, said, “The cuts proposed by the legislature leave the Met Council with few options. And these are not realistic options. We know and business leaders know and transit riders know that we need transit to get to jobs and attract jobs.”

 

Many of the transit riders who signed postcards could lose their routes or see bigger crowds waiting at park and ride stations. Helen Duritsa, from White Bear Lake, who rides the bus and sometimes drives to work, said, “Every bus takes 40-50 cars off the road. If these cuts go through more people will be in personal cars. These cuts mean suburban families will pay more to get around and will spend more of their time stuck in traffic.”

Kathleen Murphy, a longtime transit rider from Richfield, depends on the bus and rail to get around. She cannot drive due to a hearing condition. “I have been riding the bus for 30 years. Every summer gas prices go up and then later they go down. Bus fares go up but they don’t go down. We already have seen big fare increases in recent years. If weekend bus service is cut, I and many people I know will be stranded.”

David Greene, a member of Isaiah, and a frequent commuter from Minneapolis to Saint Paul, spoke about the ability of the high tech company where he works to attract key talent if the Twin Cities turns its back on transit. “I’ve seen us lose key hires because they were concerned about livability—the cost of getting around. People are reluctant to move to a place where the only option for getting around is to drive.”

Reverend Grant Stevenson, president of Isaiah, said “there is a deficit of moral clarity” right alongside the budget deficit. He said that cuts like those proposed for transit cut away at the core of our civilization, the community we all share.

Representative Frank Hornstein, from southwest Minneapolis, said, “This is a critical moment in the legislative session,” with bills in conference committee and nearing resolution. Representative Terry Morrow, from Saint Peter, joined the roll call with the names of cities in Greater Minnesota where more transit service is needed, not less. “This is a statewide issue. Half the people in Greater Minnesota can’t get a ride. In Saint Peter, I see people standing in parking lots waiting for rides that never come. All of Minnesota needs transit. It is a moral issue.”

“This event comes at a time when people across the metro are still looking for jobs. They are seeing gas prices rise to historic levels and now hear that the Legislature wants to cut bus service, making it even harder for families to make their check books balance,” said Barb Thoman of Transit for Livable Communities. “These cuts to transit effectively say to average Minnesotans, working people, seniors, people struggling to make ends meet in this economy, ‘it’s okay if you have to pay more or are stranded, unable to get to work or the doctor. You are not a high priority in this state.’”

As the roll call of cities was completed, transit riders and supporters set off in groups to deliver postcards to legislators. The list of districts with postcards delivered is as follows. Districts 59-67 will be delivered later this week. Copies of all postcards will go to Governor Dayton.:

2A, 2B, 7A, 7B, 10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, 12 B, 14A, 14B, 15A, 15B, 17B, 18A, 19B, 20B, 24A, 24B, 25A, 25B, 25B, 28A, 28B,, 30B, 32A, 32B, 33A, 33B, 34A, 34B, 37A, 37B, 38A, 
39A, 39B, 40A, 40B, 41A, 41B, 42A, 42B, 43A, 43B, 44A, 44B, 45A, 45B, 46A, 47A, 47B, 
49A, 49A, 49B, 50A, 50B, 51A, 51B, 52A, 53A, 53B, 54A, 54B, 55A, 55B, 56A, 56B.

Photo credit: Amber Collett, Transit for Livable Communities

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Sent on behalf of Transit Partners:

Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, Envision Minnesota, Fresh Energy, Isaiah, LISC, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Minnesota Housing Partnership, MPIRG , MPTA, Sierra Club, Transit for Livable Communities

House cuts to transit would mean $4.00 fare increase or 45% reduction in service and 550 layoffs

For Immediate Release  March 25, 2011 

Contact
Hilary Reeves, Transit for Livable Communities
651-767-0298 x115 (days); 612-554-1795 (evenings)< hilaryr@tlcminnesota.org      

Jenna Wade, Fresh Energy
651-726-7568 (days); 612-819-7282 (cell), wade@fresh-energy.org

Saint Paul, MN (March 25, 2011)—The upshot of a week of hearings at the Legislature about transit funding is that if House measures prevail there will be a $4.00 fare increase or a 45% reduction in service and 550 layoffs, according to a letter from the Metropolitan Council to Rep. Beard, Chair of the House Transportation Finance Committee. The House bill goes to a floor vote Monday.

“While much of the coverage at the Legislature this week has focused on the Health and Human Service bill, transportation and housing costs make up more than 50% of the average household budget,” said Dave Van Hattum of Transit for Livable Communities. “These cuts will hit everyone very hard,” he said, “noting that 63% of Metro Transit riders are going to work.”

The transportation committees heard powerful testimony from a wide variety of voices in support of transit. Charlie Zelle, representing the Minneapolis Regional Chamber, spoke of corporate site selectors and the factors that determine where businesses locate. “Bold investment in transit attracts business,” Zelle said. “We see transit as critical to retain employees and businesses.”

Transit riders from the Metro—many of whom arrived by transit—and from out-state spoke passionately about the place of transit in their lives and the affect of cuts on their communities’ quality of life. Legislators also heard that rising fuel prices and dependence on oil are concerns.

Gary Ludwig, who runs the regional bus system in New Ulm, Minnesota, said legislators could cut funds, but they would end up trading “a $5 fare for a $500 ambulance,” speaking of local residents who use his service to get to medical appointments. A student from Apple Valley said she relies on Metro Transit to get to her job. Another student, originally from Indiana, said she chose the Twin Cities because of the transit system and said other friends do the same.

On Friday, the Met Council outlined what the House cuts would mean in practical terms. Using a “fares only” approach to solving the $130 million, 2-year, cut would mean a $4.00 increase in fares, bringing regular route fares to between $5.75 and $7.00 per ride. This would lead to a 50-60% loss in rides provided, or 40-48 million fewer rides per year

An alternative, system-wide approach to dealing with the $130 million cut would include a range of measures, including

• laying off approximately 550 drivers and related staff
• cutting nearly 45% of regular route bus service
• cutting 240 peak rush hour bus trips per day
• reducing Metro Mobility operating hours
• Saturday and Sunday regular route and all dial-a-ride programs may be eliminated
• a $.25 cent fare increase, resulting in 22 million fewer rides in 2012 and 2013.

The Senate bill cuts $32 million from the general fund allocation for transit for the biennium, with directions to the Met Council to fill the cut with the Livable Communities fund, fare increases and service cuts. The Senate taxes committee will hear the bill Friday afternoon; the Senate bill will go to the floor later next week. The budget proposed by Governor Dayton preserves general fund allocations to transit.

Sent on behalf of Transit Partners:

1000 Friends of Minnesota, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, Fresh Energy, Isaiah, LISC, Minnesota Citizens for Environmental Advocacy, Minnesota Housing Partnership    , MPIRG , MPTA, Sierra Club, Transit for Livable Communities