CMRTA May Reduce Bus Routes

Bus riders in Columbia and Richland County may have to find a different mode of transportation on weekends and holidays. 

The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority may have to reduce the hours of bus routes to keep the system running during the 2011-2012 fiscal year which starts Oct. 1. 

The reductions first have to be approved by the City of Columbia and Richland County. It's uncertain how long that process will take. 

Under the proposed cuts, all the bus routes would still operate Monday through Friday, but would be reduced between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. — the least busy hours. All weekend and holiday hours would be cut. 

The reduction in hours would save the CMRTA $3 million, said Jim Cromer, a representative from Veolia Transportation, the company that operates the CMRTA buses.

It would also result in the loss of 32 full-time positions, Cromer said. 

The CMRTA board voted Monday to present the reccommended reudctions in service to Richland County and the City of Columbia for consideration. 

Frannie Heizer, the attorney for the CMRTA board, said if the board wants the cuts approved before January the legal process needs to start now. Columbia City Council and Richland County Council will have have to hold public hearings about the reductions.

The Federal Transit Authority also has to be notified of the reductions in service to ensure that minorities aren't denied access to the bus services. 

Until Richland County and the City of Columbia approve the cuts, buses will operate as they do now. The CMRTA has enough money to sustain the bus system without making cuts through December, according to an estimated financial projection by Derrick, Stubbs & Stith, a Columbia CPA firm. 

The City of Columbia has already set aside $3.6 million to fund the bus system for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Richland County has set aside $1.7 million. .

Joyce Dickerson, CMRTA board chair and Richland County councilwoman, said that may not be enough money.

"What we have approved may not be enough to continue operations through 2012 without making cuts to the service," Dickerson said.

It's not certain that Richland County and the City of Columbia will approve the cuts, though. 

"A few years ago Richland County Council decided they didn't want to reduce services, so they were comfortable providing more money," Dickerson said. 

Richland County and the City of Columbia provide the majority of the CMRTA's yearly operating funds. Lexington County, which receives less service from the transit authority, pays based on an hourly rate. 

An inter-governmental agreement between the three governments ended June 30. A new agreement has been drafted, but no one has signed it yet, said CMRTA attorney Heizer. 

The board also heard a report from the committee that is searching for a new executive director for the CMRTA, a position that has been vacant for about 7 1/2 months. . 

The committee has reviewed about 25 resumes, and is finishing the interview process. They plan to narrow the applicant pool and present a handful of candidates to the board at its next meeting on September 26.