Last year Community Transit eliminated bus service on Sundays and holidays due to budget cuts. Now more deep cuts are planned for next year.
The agency said Thursday that due to continued low sales tax revenue it will slash service by 20 percent in February 2012.
“The recession has taken a large toll on public agencies that rely on sales tax revenues,” said Community Transit CEO Joyce Eleanor. “While we expect sales tax revenues to climb slightly this year, we foresee a long, slow economic recovery.”
The 2012 service cut will equal about 80,000 hours of service, roughly the same amount that was cut in 2010.
“By this time next year we will have cut about a third of the service and about a third of the employees that we had at the beginning of 2010,” Eleanor said. More than 100 positions have been eliminated so far.
On June 2, Community Transit will release three alternatives for achieving the 20 percent reduction. Two will focus on reducing the frequency of trips and the third alternative will propose a complete restructuring of bus service in Snohomish County.
At least one of the alternatives will restore some Sunday service, which will mean deeper cuts the rest of the week.
Community Transit will take public comment on the alternatives at five community meetings. The two closest to Lynnwood are:
Mountlake Terrace Library
23300 58th Ave. W.
Monday, June 6
6 – 8:30 p.m.
Edmonds Community College, Snohomish Hall, Room 0304
20000 68th Ave. W., Lynnwood
Tuesday, June 7
2 – 4 p.m.
Maybe they should have stimulated OUR economy by paying bus drivers and getting people to work instead of London’s economy with double-decker buses.
The double decker buses were paid for with a grant from the stimulus act (ARRA) passed in early 2009. Since it was a grant the money could only be used to pay for the buses.
Because of ARRA’s “Buy American” provision the buses were built at a new manufacturing plant in California.
Thanks for that information. It does make me feel a little better about the buses that way.
What a wonderful downward spiral. They’re announcing cuts in service as gas prices are spiraling upwards. Less service = less capacity. Eventually, lack of capacity (real or perceived) will influence people into driving more, which will mean they will have less money for the ‘discretionary spending’ that funds the sales taxes that pay for the service. Round and round it goes