Chatham Area Transit looks ahead for aid from state transit funds (Savannah: sales, house)

[Airforceguy]

Glad to see CAT is being proactive. I would love to see CAT beef up their bus service with larger vehicles and I would like to see CAT begin a streetcar service similar to the one Portland has.

CAT expects to propose changes to House Bill 930 in the coming year, Vaquer said, including one that would allow individual counties to hold a referendum on the Transit SPLOST, and others that could enhance the state’s role in funding Georgia transit.

“This is a process that we are going through that is unfolding slowly, but there is a method to what we are doing,” he said. “The focus will be on what needs to be done for metro areas and what needs to be done for rural communities.”

If they’re successful bringing these amendments, these new funding mechanisms could go a long way in assisting agencies like CAT in staying sustainable long-term, said Curtis Koleber, CAT’s executive director and CEO.

Currently, Koleber said, CAT relies on property taxes in the transit district and grants from the Federal Transit Administration, along with funding support from Chatham County, which pays for operation of the Paratransit program. But a sales tax could be more palatable to property owners in CAT’s tax district, he said, because it would spread the cost for transit to the area’s visitors.

Chatham Area Transit looks ahead for aid from state transit funds - Business - Savannah Morning News - Savannah, GA

[SavannahLife]

No disrespect but strongly disagree. Most of their buses are empty on most times of day. Streetcar? Why? it would go slower than a bus, only run a very specific route, and require putting rails down and blocking traffic. Cars would block it and it would stop all the time. Now, a rail from Pooler to Savannah (and airport), sure, that would be cool. But we are decades from having density to justify that massive expenditure I would think. We need more and smaller buses perhaps to offer more frequent times to get more people riding perhaps. The little buses like the one to the airport are so nice.