Transit Cuts...Are Officially here

Many skeptics have failed to believe that doom and gloom transit service cuts would ever actually happen. With plummeting sales tax revenues transit agencies across the state are facing daunting cuts in the next 1-3 years. In the 2009 legislature TCC worked hard to pass a modest $20 car-tab local option to give agencies a financial band-aid. As you will recall that was vetoed by the Governor.

I am sad to report that the according to the Tacoma News Tribune, transit cuts are officially coming.

The story does a good job painting what Pierce Transit's 5% cuts will mean for an every day commuter who relies on the route 53 , a route that is getting eliminated, to get to work.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said this week. “I will have to walk up the hill, and at my age, I’ll probably have a heart attack.”

Pierce Transit planner Kelly Hayden sums up the problem that agencies across the state are facing:

“It’s the perfect storm,” said Kelly Hayden, Pierce Transit’s director of planning. “What can I do? It’s something that a transportation planner never wants to do.”

“The demand is up, but the resources to pay for it are going down,” he added.

Come July 12th we will see significant transit cuts at Pierce Transit, one of the state's largest agencies. Cuts at the state's largest agency, Metro, are not far behind. New local revenue sources and an increase in the state's financial commitment to transit are needed now more than ever.