This article by Madeline Clark was published by the Other Paper on Dec. 19.
It looks like a rough road ahead for Green Mountain Transit (GMT). The bus company anticipates an over $1 million budget shortage this year, according to Thomas Chittenden, the GMT board chair. On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the board voted to keep its municipal assessments for member towns at 4%. The assessment rose 1% last year after several years of a 3% assessment.
“We are making some very deep and painful cuts,” Chittenden told the South Burlington City Council, of which he is also a member, during its Dec. 16 meeting. He added those reductions would play out over the next month or two.
The cuts will likely affect rural areas, eliminating some routes and change service frequency across the board during mid-day hours.
In June, GMT launched its NextGen Service Plan, a large-scale route change that followed research on ridership, population centers and routes. Part of the changes included shifting “major routes” to a standard 20-minute bus interval between 6 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Chittenden did not want to get in front of the board but said he would be surprised if the company did not seek $220,000 in annual savings by returning to 30-minute intervals during mid-day hours.
“We’re looking at a variety of creative ways for the long-term sustainability of public transportation in the state,” Chittenden said.
Last year the GMT board proposed a 5% assessment for member communities but that was voted down 7-6. This year, Chittenden believed the board might again consider a 5% assessment. He told the City Council he was in favor of keeping that increase to 4% instead of 5% because he wanted to put pressure on the transportation company to assess rural communities as they do their urban counterparts.
“I just feel like we are over-taxing urban communities,” he said. “I want to find more ways for all of our five counties to contribute.”
South Burlington is a GMT member community and currently pays $525,000 for annual services. That contribution varies due to factors including the number of riders requiring Americans With Disabilities Act accommodations.
“Honestly, this is a problem that’s been around for decades,” City Councilor David Kaufman said during the Dec. 16 meeting. “Somehow it doesn’t seem we ever make progress on any public transportation.”
He added that people just don’t seem to make the switch from their cars to the bus.
But Councilor Meaghan Emery spoke to her positive experience riding public transportation.
“When it’s horrible weather outside I am so glad to just go on the bus and let someone else deal with the mess, deal with the traffic,” Emery said. “I can sit, I can read, I can do my emails. I am in a warm, comfortable environment; I love the bus.”
Chittenden said for the first time in four years ridership is increasing. Ridership tracks inversely with gas prices and the strength of the economy, he said.
Chittenden also told the council that GMT and the Statehouse are discussing more sustainable funding methods as employed by other states. One example may be to re-examine car registration fees, he said.
“Right now, [Sen.] Tim Ashe as well as [Rep.] Curt McCormack are intrigued by the notion of fare-free, because we should see ridership increase.”
Ride fares account for about $2.2 million annually, or 10% of GMT’s $22 million budget. Chittenden said the move to fare-free isn’t unheard of, but he wondered where the money would come from.
Chittenden also told councilors that he will step down from his GMT board chairmanship this January — he had previously planned to leave the role in July 2019. Current board member Bonnie Waninger will assume the position. But Chittenden said he would remain on the board, if it was alright with the City Council.