TARTA service changes approved by Trustees and will go into effect December 27th
The following release in via email from Hart Associates:
TARTA service changes approved to take effect December 27, fares remain unchanged
Sunday And Holiday Service To Continue At Reduced Level
Toledo, Ohio ‑ Changes reducing the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority’s service by 12 percent have been approved by the TARTA Board of Trustees’ Routes and Schedules Committee. The changes will take effect on Sunday, December 27.
“No organization providing a vital public service wants to reduce its offerings; but, in TARTA’s case, we had no choice,” said James K. Gee, TARTA’s General Manager. “If we want to continue delivering service to our nine member communities, we have to cut service. It’s as simple as that.”
According to Gee, TARTA’s finances are being battered by the economy. TARTA is experiencing declining government revenues, declining ridership, inflationary pressures and increasing costs for its part of local capital projects.
Changes approved are not as widespread as a group of changes proposed by TARTA in September to meet a projected $900,000 reduction in property tax collections.
Gee also said fares will remain unchanged at this time.
“We want to wait for the new service cuts to settle, get a fix on 2010 fuel prices, see what our year-end financial results are and try to get a better handle on just how much lower our property tax proceeds will be before making a final determination on fare adjustments,” Gee said.
Previously, TARTA had indicated a public hearing would be held in November concerning fares for all TARTA services, including fixed-line service, Toledo Area Regional Paratransit Service (TARPS) for the mobility challenged, suburban Call-A-Ride service and the Muddy™ and Walleye shuttles to sporting events in downtown Toledo.
The approved package of service changes was modified as a result of comments gathered at two public meetings on October 22 as well as comments mailed to TARTA.
Highlights of the approved changes include the following:
* Holiday and weekend service will be reduced ‑ but continued ‑ to allow people to attend church and visit with family
* Sunday service will be provided from 7:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
* Holiday service will operate from 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. for fixed-line, TARPS and Call-A-Ride services.
* The time interval between buses leaving the downtown line up on evenings, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays has been extended from 70 minutes to 80 minutes
* Buses will leave the downtown line up for their final trip at 10:50 on week nights
* During nonpeak weekday hours, the frequency between buses on fixed-line routes has been extended from 60 minutes to 80/90 minutes
* Routes with low ridership will be eliminated
“These changes touch virtually all routes in one way or another. Now that the changes have been approved by the board’s committee, we have taken a giant step toward getting new schedules posted on our Web site and printed and available on buses and other normal locations,” Gee said.
It is expected comprehensive new schedules will be posted on TARTA’s Web site, www.tarta.com, no later than December 11.
TARTA’s current fare structure includes $1 per ride for adults and children 6 and above on fixed-line and Call-A-Ride service. Seniors and persons with disabilities can ride the same services for $.50 per ride with a TARTA or Medicare ID. Rides on TARPS are $2 per ride.
About TARPS
The Toledo Area Regional Paratransit Service is a comparable, complementary paratransit service for riders covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was established in 1989 and is operated by TARTA. TARPS is a schedule-in-advance service using special vehicles designed solely for riders with special needs. It provides service throughout the TARTA service area in Lucas and Wood counties.
About TARTA
The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority was formed in 1971 and is a political subdivision under Ohio law, similar to a park district or a school district. TARTA carries nearly 5 million passengers annually and provides interconnected, regional service to seven communities in Lucas County – Toledo, Maumee, Waterville, Ottawa Hills, Sylvania and Spencer and Sylvania townships ‑ and two Wood County communities – Perrysburg and Rossford.
TARTA can be contacted by calling 419-243-RIDE (7433) or visiting its Web site, www.tarta.com.
I knew about the changes but this struck a chord with me…..(Sunday service will be provided from 7:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.)
SO does this mean all buses will report back to the garage for the 1.5 hr lunch? or will they lay over somewhere and while in layover status the buses will remain running?????
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:47 pmI’m guessing they’ll go back to the garage and the drivers that do the runs from 4:45 will be a different shift. I’ll see if I can find out an exact answer though.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:07 pmI was given an answer to the question; the Sunday service with a time gap means the first segment will be for full-time drivers only and the second segment will be for part-time drivers only. When the first segment is completed they will return to the garage, no lay overs or idling. Until now, the union contract prohibited part-timers to work on Sundays. This created a financial hardship for TARTA with the current national economy so with that provision from the union they are able to provide the service on Sundays and Holidays using part time drivers.
November 24th, 2009 at 7:44 pmLisa Renee, just so we understand, if one rides TARTA or TARPS and need to be at work at 3:00 the person will need to go really early or be late
November 24th, 2009 at 8:57 pmand if they get off work at 3:00 they
will need to wait for quite some time
to leave work to go home??
DD, if someone had to be at work at 3 or got off at 3 you are correct, they would be impacted by the time span where there would be no bus transportation on Sundays and Holidays. From what I understood from the letters and those who attended the meetings, the major concern on Sundays and Holidays was church and being able to visit family members which is why the shortened Sunday/Holiday schedule was created as opposed to the original plan of offering no service on Sunday and Holidays.
November 24th, 2009 at 9:56 pmI just thought about the people that
November 24th, 2009 at 10:14 pmmany work for fast food or other
restaurants, stores, even some hospitals that may need to work
on Sunday so I do not know what some
of them will do. They probably ride
the bus because they do not have
the money for a car or any other
way to get back and forth.
There could be some people still impacted by this, it seems as if it came down to either this compromise or raising the fare which would have been an even larger hardship on some. Let’s hope anyone who relies on TARTA or TARPS for work will have understanding employers that will schedule them when they can get to and from work.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:23 pm