Elimination of City Bus service, is the reason Political? (Austin: appointed, sales)

[eileenkeeney]

I recently found out, that the bus service, to my neighborhood, is being eliminated.

(I recently purchased a house here, and one reason was proximity to a bus stop).

The reason is to better serve another area, which they believe will provide more riders for Light Rail.

So basically they are removing service completely from some people, for the sole reason of increasing the timeliness of service to others (who they feel are more likely to use light rail if the bus can get them to the stop more often).

Since I ride mostly on the weekends (I walk to work), the ridership pattern I see is not the weekday pattern. However, when I do ride, more people get on and off the bus at the stop I use than any other stop on the route.
(I use the stop which is right in front of an apartment complex, that caters to older and retired people.)

Is gaining ridership for Light Rail now the most important objective of the transit system?
Does someone, for Political reasons, need this ridership to increase, such that this is now more important than providing public transportation to a maximum number of people?

If an area is considered to not generate enough ridership, would a better solution be to decrease the timeliness of service to that area, as opposed to cutting it out completely?


As for me, local merchants will be loosing my business, as I will now be doing most of my shopping online. (Some will come from local merchants, but a lot will not).

Ok, I admit, I can still get to a bus stop, if it is not excessively hot, or I am not carrying a lot of weight (such as when I am returning from shopping).
The nearest stop will be about 10 blocks away.
But I am closer to the stops that will still remain in service, than many who use this bus route.
I am also younger (and able to more easily walk further) than many who use the route.


From a public office standpoint, who is it who appoints the people who make these bus route decisions?
(I need to know who to vote out of office. I sure hope the polling place is close enough that I can easily walk to it).

[CptnRn]

That is unfortunate that a service you depend on is being cut.

The City of Austin divested itself of the Transit Authority around the 1980's I believe. I believe this was in recognition of the fact that it serves the entire county and outlying areas, not just the City of Austin.

http://www.capmetro.org/InsideMetro/history.asp (broken link) Capital Metro's life story begins on January 19, 1985, when voters in Austin and the surrounding area approved the creation of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The voters agreed that the communities would support the agency with the proceeds from a one percent sales tax. Voters in that 1985 election also approved a service plan that expanded the existing Austin city bus service and called for the development of a light rail transportation system to serve the area.

Ten capital-area jurisdictions voted to participate in Capital Metro, including Austin, Cedar Park, Highland Lake Estates, Lago Vista, Leander, Pflugerville, Rollingwood, San Leanna, West Lake Hills, and the Anderson Mill area of Williamson County. By the end of that year, the suburban cities of Jonestown and Manor, along with some unincorporated areas in northern Travis County, Precinct 2 of Travis County voted to join the service area.

Some of the original member jurisdictions have since voted to withdraw from Capital Metro and deny bus service to their area. These include West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Cedar Park and Pflugerville.

The Capital Metro website is here Capital Metro Transit - Austin, Texas

Here is a list of the Board of Directors: About Capital Metro - News and Info - Capital Metro Transit - Austin, Texas (http://www.capmetro.org/InsideMetro/news_board_of_directors.asp - broken link) and the Public Comment policy and procedures http://www.capmetro.org/insidemetro/public_comment.asp (broken link)

They are appointed by various governmental entities in the area as described here: Newsroom - News and Info - Capital Metro Transit - Austin, Texas (http://www.capmetro.org/news/news_detail.asp?id=7796 - broken link)

You might want to get involved in attending board meetings and providing them with input. They probably do not get enough public input on what is important to the citizens.

There is a City of Austin citizen representative - Ann Stafford position on the board, you might want to contact her. It sounds like she is appointed by the City Council, the City can probably tell you how you could be considered for the position. Who knows you could end up on the board if you are interested.

The Community Impact Newspaper usually has pretty good coverage of Capital Metro issues, you can see some of their articles here and sign up for free deliveries. Search (http://impactnews.com/search?cx=010709005715886827102%3Anj_e6q66us0&cof= FORID%3A10%3BNB%3A1&ie=UTF-8&q=capital+metro - broken link)

[eileenkeeney]

Thanks.
This explains the lack of service to (and within) Round Rock.
I would have thought a bus from TechRidge up I35, stopping at the major points along the way (Ikea, Outlet malls, Theater) would attract riders.

As for my ending up on the board, that would require that I actually talk to people (face to face, not just in discussion groups) which stretches my comfort zone.
But Austin should maybe have representatives from the different districts within Austin, Austin is big, and one person seems like too few.

I will write to the various people who might have some impact, but I believe that people have already done this. A group of ladies at the retirement complex (the one by the current bus stop) have been very active.

I am sure that the tax base I feed, funds Capital Metro.

I do suspect that, in order to justify having spent the money on Light Rail, that feeding that system will be the priority, even if it does not best serve as many people as the current bus routes do.
If it is political, with this motive, it won't matter what the other needs are.
I do know that, at least on Saturday, More people get on and off the bus at the stop I use, than any other stop. Even the one time I rode on a weekday, I did not notice a higher density of people getting on and off in what they consider the "higher density" zone, than in the section they are cutting out.
My guess is that more people are served at the bus stop I use, than are served at the light rail stop.
I might have to ride during Light Rail hours sometime, to see how many people are getting on and off at that station, as opposed to the stops they are cutting out.

[CptnRn]

This budget document is interesting. Only 63% of its budget comes from sales tax, I expected it to be higher. Only 4% of its budget comes from fares. This does mean that most of us in Austin who don't use Capital Metro are paying the vast majority of the costs for providing the services to the small handful of people who do use the service.

http://www.capmetro.org/docs/financial/Proposed%20Budget-FY2011.pdf (broken link)

[eileenkeeney]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

This budget document is interesting. Only 63% of its budget comes from sales tax, I expected it to be higher. Only 4% of its budget comes from fares. This does mean that most of us in Austin who don't use Capital Metro are paying the vast majority of the costs for providing the services to the small handful of people who do use the service.

http://www.capmetro.org/docs/financial/Proposed%20Budget-FY2011.pdf (broken link)

So if I am unhappy with Capital Metro, and do not want to contribute to funding it, I should stop buying stuff (except food).
I could save a lot more money.
So maybe this change is good for me.
I will have to walk much further if I really do need to go somewhere (good exercise). I won't go shopping as often, since it will be more difficult.
I will be angry at Capital Metro, so I will want to decrease how much I feed their tax base, so I will want to avoid paying sales tax any more than I need to, so I will buy less "stuff".

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by eileenkeeney

So if I am unhappy with Capital Metro, and do not want to contribute to funding it, I should stop buying stuff (except food).
I could save a lot more money.
So maybe this change is good for me.
I will have to walk much further if I really do need to go somewhere (good exercise). I won't go shopping as often, since it will be more difficult.
I will be angry at Capital Metro, so I will want to decrease how much I feed their tax base, so I will want to avoid paying sales tax any more than I need to, so I will buy less "stuff".

That would do it, also another 14% of their budget comes from Federal grants, so do all you can to minimize what you pay in Federal taxes. That will show them!

[eileenkeeney]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

That would do it, also another 14% of their budget comes from Federal grants, so do all you can to minimize what you pay in Federal taxes. That will show them!

I can quit my job, then I won't be paying much federal tax either.
Maybe then I can get food stamps, and for the first time in my life, be on the end that receives more in benefits than I pay in Taxes.

Seriously,
I think I will see how many people I can get to join my local shopping boycott.
Round Rock is very close, and if I am going to take a cab shopping, I might just as well go into Round Rock instead of staying in Austin.

Maybe the retirement apartment complex (that uses the same bus stop), will even be willing to change the stores their own van goes to (they have a van that takes residents shopping on Wednesday, to Walmart and HEB). Since many of their residents are upset with the changes, maybe they would be willing to just stop paying into the local sales tax base.

As for online shopping, I know that if I am not charged state tax, I am still obligated to pay it (as use tax).
But I do not know if the same law applies to the Local tax.
If it does, then my best option is to just shop in Round Rock.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by eileenkeeney

I can quit my job, then I won't be paying much federal tax either.
Maybe then I can get food stamps, and for the first time in my life, be on the end that receives more in benefits than I pay in Taxes.

Seriously,
I think I will see how many people I can get to join my local shopping boycott.
Round Rock is very close, and if I am going to take a cab shopping, I might just as well go into Round Rock instead of staying in Austin.

Maybe the retirement apartment complex (that uses the same bus stop), will even be willing to change the stores their own van goes to (they have a van that takes residents shopping on Wednesday, to Walmart and HEB). Since many of their residents are upset with the changes, maybe they would be willing to just stop paying into the local sales tax base.

As for online shopping, I know that if I am not charged state tax, I am still obligated to pay it (as use tax).
But I do not know if the same law applies to the Local tax.
If it does, then my best option is to just shop in Round Rock.

Unfortunatly, I think this punitive tactic will back fire. They will be forced to cut services even more, eliminating entire routes and reducing the frequency of bus trips.

Its probably more productive to work with the system in place and try to make it better. That is why I encourage you to GET INVOLVED. It has a far higher chance of success.

[orbius]

The biggest bad joke is they cut the Dillo bus service to the courthouse. Which anyone who has been to the courthouse knows its impossible to park within a 2 mile radius of the courthouse.
No parking for jurors is bad enough but now no decent place to park and ride to the courthouse. The City of Austin is giving citizens the finger and saying 'not my problem'.
How about the city actually appraises businesses and mansions in the same manner as everyone else and then there would be no problem with lack of funding for an already inferior bus service.

[eileenkeeney]

Actually I was thinking that the punitive tactic would have no effect beyond making me feel better.

I will do what I can, to include attending the hearing related to the changes.