From bad to worse - Missouri Public Transit Association

http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/15/1892928/from-bad-to-worse.html

Editor's note: The date for the public hearing on the proposed fare increase and service changes was incorrectly listed in a previous version of this story. It is June 23.

Wichita’s public transit system may go from bad to worse. But given high fuel prices and a tight city budget, there may not be much choice — at least for now.

The transit system is facing a million-dollar budget shortfall. To fill that gap, it has proposed raising fares by 50 cents, hiking para-transit rides for people with disabilities by $1 and eliminating bus service on Saturdays.

That means riders may soon be paying more for less service. And the service already was bare bones.

Limited operating hours make it difficult for people who work nights or weekends to use public transportation. In addition, limited and infrequent routes mean there often are long waits for buses.

University of Kansas graduate students studied Wichita’s transit system last year. They recommended that the city switch its “hub and spoke” system to a grid-based network that cuts down on transfers and is easier to use.

Preliminary estimates were that the grid routes would cost about $23 million a year to operate, more than double the approximately $10 million the city now spends. And if the city bought more buses to run the routes more frequently and expanded hours of service, the cost would be about $56 million each year.

Ridership would increase if the bus service were better, but not enough to cover the additional costs. So the city would need additional funding, such as a dedicated sales tax.

That’s a tough sell when the city is struggling to balance its budget and come out of a recession.

Still, Wichita spends less on its transit system than other regional cities. According to the KU study, Wichita spends $27.42 per capita, while Topeka spends $68.57; Little Rock spends $65.19; Kansas City, Mo., $51.52; Tulsa, $35.98; and Omaha, $27.90.

A recent Eagle letter to the editor also noted that the city, county and state are eager to fund road projects but reluctant to spend money on public transit. Yet, the writer said, “for some people, the bus means the difference between having a job and being on welfare.”

The Wichita City Council voted Tuesday to hire a consultant to conduct outreach sessions to hear what Wichitans want from their bus system. Transit officials will hold a public hearing on the proposed fare increase and service changes at 6:30 p.m. June 23 in the City Council chambers at 455 N. Main. They also will accept input by mail at Wichita Transit, 777 E. Waterman, Wichita, KS 67202, or by phone at 316-265-1450.

But if history is a guide, city officials likely will focus more on the budget bottom line than on what the public wants or needs. If so, that will perpetuate the downward spiral of service cuts, leading to less ridership and more cuts.

And the working poor, elderly and others who depend on public transit will be left waiting by the curb.

— For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee