The GRTC Transit System will be eliminating or combining some bus routes and was urged by at least one Richmond City Council member Tuesday to consider increasing its fares after requesting $11 million from council.
GRTC Chief Executive Officer John M. Lewis Jr. gave a presentation to two council members during part of his request for funding in the city's fiscal year 2009 budget.
Lewis was supposed to give a presentation to council's finance committee during a budget work session, but two of the committee members couldn't attend. Instead, committee member and councilman Bruce Tyler (1st) and council president Bill Pantele (2nd) listened to the information and asked questions.
But Lewis' presentation reviewed snippets of a larger analysis of GRTC that will be presented to City Council at its April 14 informal meeting. The analysis includes information on:
w who's riding the bus, why and when;
w recommendations for eliminating or combining certain routes and bus stops, specifically those along Broad Street;
w plans for transfer center stations in certain busy areas to remove unnecessary transfers; and
w developing a bus rapid transit line along Broad Street between Willow Lawn and Rocketts Landing with a possible extension in the future to Short Pump in Henrico County.
The plan will be available online and to the public April 15, Lewis said.
Lewis told Tyler and Pantele that GRTC had more than 10 million riders in 2006 and 2007 and he expects the number to rise again this year. Of those riders, 1.3 million are Henrico County residents and another 1 million are Virginia Commonwealth University students, both of which contracts with GRTC.
In considering a rate increase, GRTC would have to subtract those riders plus 600,000 service express riders and a 4 percent nationwide decrease in riders, which would give them about 5.5 million riders. If GRTC increased fares by a nickel, it would generate thousands of dollars, Tyler pointed out.
"I would suggest you look at possible fare increases," Tyler told Lewis.
"You could be setting up different fares for county and city riders," Lewis responded.
The fare increases would only apply to Richmond residents because of the agreement with express service; Henrico paying per mile and VCU paying per student.
Though there's no formal agreement, the city has historically funded GRTC for years. Lewis said they will be starting this fiscal year with $4 million less than what they need, and are asking council to give them an additional $2 million this year while he finds the remaining in other efficiency-saving measures.
If GRTC eliminated and combined certain bus routes and stops, it could save between $500,000 and $1 million, Lewis told Tyler and Pantele.
Lewis also told the pair that overtime hours skyrocketed from 29,000 in 2005 to 41,443 in 2006 and 45,098 in 2007 because of a spike in ridership after Hurricane Katrina. GRTC wasn't sure if the increase was short- or long-term so they didn't hire additional staff.
When it became obvious it was the latter, Lewis said, they began hiring more people, but that process includes a 12-week training class. So GRTC also started squeezing 20 people, rather than 10, into those classes, Lewis said. That, combined with the fact that 10 percent to 20 percent of those graduates leave for better-paying jobs and a large number of the 426 operators are retiring, has taken time, Lewis said.
City Council will hear a full presentation on the GRTC's comprehensive operations analysis at its April 14's informal meeting, which starts at 3 p.m. in City Hall.