On October 30th, due to unfavorable budget trends, the City of Columbia will implement the largest service cuts to their bus system that have ever been performed in the agency’s history. “These service reductions will create real hardships for people traveling to work, medical appointments and school. That is 1.5 million rides per year. These service reductions come after many years of finding new and innovative ways to improve funding and reduce expenses. Unfortunately these strategies have not been enough to stem the tide of increasing expenses in personnel and healthcare costs,” said Drew Brooks, the Transit & Parking Manager for the City of Columbia.
Over the last decade the City had begun advertising on buses, found ways to increase revenues through park and ride programs, and just last year became the first city in the state of Missouri to begin using electric buses in an attempt to reduce expenses. The electric bus fleet technology produced a 70% decrease in preventative maintenance costs for the electric bus fleet but these savings were not enough.
Combined with declining growth in sales tax revenue, the City of Columbia this year was tasked with reducing the transit budget by a half million dollars. Seventy percent of their budget is local funding, a combination of local transportation sales tax, fares, advertising revenues, and contracts with private and government entities. Approximately 30% of their revenue is from federal operating assistant grants
Then there is state funding. Only 4/10ths of 1 percent of the City of Columbia’s overall budget is from state funding. Over the last several years that amount has hovered around $25,000 annually. According to Brooks, this covers about half of the salary and benefits of a SINGLE driver. The City of Columbia employs 85 drivers.
“The impending transit service cuts set for Oct. 30 in Columbia demonstrate the critical problem that many Missouri transit providers are experiencing. According to AASHTO the average amount contributed by states for transportation is 40 percent of an agency’s budget. We are not even on the chart when it comes to State support of transit. Last year, the legislature slashed transit funding again by $500,000, removing all general revenue for transit and leaving $1.71 million to be split among 34 providers. Columbia’s $25,000 from the state will more than likely decline again this coming year. Missouri can and should do better,” said Kim Cella, executive director of MPTA.