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During a press conference
on Tuesday at One Government Center, a coalition of
citizens, especially those involved with disability causes,
derided TARTA for its decision to reduce its services at the
end of the year – eliminating Sunday and holiday service
entirely, cutting back on some early and late weekday routes
and shutting down some routes entirely.
“TARTA is a lifeline to get [people] to jobs,” said the Rev.
Donald Perryman, PhD,, president of United Pastors for
Social Empowerment (and a contributor to The Sojourner’s
Truth), “to get them to the store, to get them to work.
TARTA is a lifeline for those with disabilities … TARTA
exploits and takes advantage.”
“This cannot stand,” said
Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken of the TARTA plans.
“TARTA’s decision is cruel, unkind, unjust. There are no
days off for public transit. We are here to say ‘No.’ We are
here to offer some solutions.”
TARTA’s decision to reduce
service stems from a reduction in financial support. Much of
TARTA’s funding – 46 percent – comes from local property
taxes. This funding has been greatly reduced over the years
– by $6 million between 1987 and 2010. TARTA teamed with a
local marketing firm and a multinational engineering firm to
create a new plan that would essentially replace property
tax funding with an area sales tax. It’s a plan, noted
TARTA CEO Jim Gee, that most major cities use for funding
public transit systems.
TARTA’s proposal needed to
be placed on the ballot for approval by area voters but
trustees in Sylvania Township, alone amongst the member
communities that TARTA services, nixed the idea of letting
voters approve the plan even though polling had shown that
most voters in the township would have approved.
Not only did the speakers
at last week’s press conference disapprove of the TARTA plan
to reduce service, some also attacked the transit operation
for a lack of transparency in the months leading up to the
reduction.
George Thomas, senior
attorney with Advocates for a Basic Legal Equality, said
“TARTA must conduct a thorough public engagement process.”
He chided TARTA for not conducting a thorough public hearing
process. “Cleveland held 15 public service meetings to
gather input,” he said, noting that TARTA only held hearings
on one day. “TARTA failed to meaningfully engage with the
public. We ask for TARTA to reconsider the process. We need
to identify strategies to mitigate these cuts.”
Lucas County Commissioner
Tina Skeldon Wozniak also voiced her distaste for the
proposed TARTA service cuts. “A strong economy needs a
strong public transit system,” said Skeldon Wozniak. “We
don’t sit back, we ask for action, we ask for change.” She
announced that the blue ribbon task force will have a
director – Roslyn Wallace, human resources manager of
Detroit Manufacturing Systems – as she observed that the
continued current transit routes are critical for the Toledo
area.
The task force, said
Skeldon Wozniak, is intended to be a panel encompassing a
broad range of Lucas County interests and residents and will
be commissioned to examine a broad range of TARTA issues –
finances, services, administration – but , as of yet, no
decisions have been made about the panel membership other
than the director.
TARTA’s CEO/General Manager James Gee released the following
statement after the press conference: “We recognize that the
upcoming service cuts will make a negative impact to the
quality of life for passengers, and we sincerely regret that
this decision became necessary. TARTA’s current funding
model and revenue limitations forced a difficult decision
for TARTA and its board of directors. However, TARTA has
been and remains open to collaborating with groups that may
find new approaches to providing more effective public
transportation options for our community.
“Within the past month, TARTA initiated dialogue with
several community groups, most notably the Toledo Regional
Chamber of Commerce. Plans are currently under development
with the Chamber to commission an economic impact study of
public transit and investigate using a priority-based
budgeting model for TARTA’s operations. The goal of these
activities is to identify innovative approaches to budgeting
and service analysis that would lead to better public
transportation in our region. As I understand, the Lucas
County Commissioners today announced an effort to develop a
Blue Ribbon Panel geared toward these same goals. TARTA
openly welcomes collaboration with such a group, and we
willingly accept different perspectives and ideas for new
revenue streams or service models that allow TARTA to offer
sustainable, efficient and adequate public transit.”
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