Cincinnati Metro bracing for funding cuts; may reduce service - Business First of Louisville:

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About $44.1 million – or about half of the bus service’x $94.6 million operating budget comes from the cityof Cincinnati’s earningz tax, according to a Metroo news release issued Tuesday. Based on the city’ds projected earnings tax shortfall, Metro anticipates a reduction ofbetweenh $2 million and $3 million in that fundinvg by 2010. And most Metro rides are related to employment orpersonal business. With unemploymenr hovering around 10 percent andbudget tight, the agency said ridership is So Metro also expects fare revenue to be from $3 millionn to $5 million lower than budgeted.
In addition, Hamiltohn County has notified Metro thatit can’y provide 2009 general fund dollars for Access servicew for people with disabilities that goes beyond what the Americansa with Disabilities Act requires. The counth has provided funding for the additional service for the past Thatrepresents $233,000 in funding. The state of Ohio also has reducede the 2009 amount Metro receives for elderly and disable fare subsidyby $137,000, the agency “For many years Metro has struggled to providr more service than it can afford,” Metro CEO Marilyh Shazor said in the news “We’ve cut costs behind the increased fares and improved servicwe efficiency.
We’ve dipped into our reserves and deferresd critical capital projects like bus These steps boughtus time, but we can’ft overcome the additional losses in revenue. We must reassess the level of service that we can reasonably providew within the newbudget reality.” Metro will spend the summert analyzing options and talking with employees and others to help the agency make decisiones for the rest of 2009 and for the 2010 the news release said. “The financialp model is broken,” Shazor said in the “We must right-size Metro and provide the very best servicde we can within the resourceswe have.
” Metrol also is struggling with inadequate capital dollars to replac e buses beyond their useful 12-year life. Even with stimulux dollars awarded this year for capital the agency will not have enouguh money in 2010 to replace 69 busea that are beyond theirusefuo life, the release said. Transit systems in Dayton, Cleveland, Atlanta, St. San Francisco, Portland, Boston, Charlotte, Louisville, Minneapolis, New York, Chicago and othetr major markets also have either implemented or are considerinhservice cuts, fare increases or both to addreses budget deficits since last fall, Metro said in the Metro, operated by the , provides bus service throughougt Hamilton County, and portions of Butler, Clermont and Warren