Chattanooga: CARTA eyes hard budget choices

The escalating cost of diesel fuel is forcing the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority to make some hard choices in coming weeks, including the possibility of cutting some bus service.

“There are no easy decisions when it comes to a reduction in service,” said Steve Jett, chairman of the CARTA board. “Anything we do will affect people and will cause people to have to find another means to get wherever it was we were taking them.”

The transit agency, facing a projected budget shortfall of about $1 million or more for the new fiscal year, is looking at several options to balance its budget, according to Tom Dugan, CARTA’s executive director. Among the choices are:

* Ending evening, Saturday and Sunday service on all of its fixed bus routes

* Shutting down the free electric shuttle downtown and in the North Shore

* Doing away with Saturday and Sunday service on both fixed bus routes and the shuttle

* Increasing revenue through channels such as advertising, sponsorships and parking

During a CARTA meeting Thursday, Mr. Dugan noted that any service reductions might be gone for good.

“If you cut something with the thought that you’re going to bring it back, then you are right back where you started,” he said. “If you cut it now, you’re probably not going to see it come back.”

CARTA’s board tentatively will meet July 7 to solidify these options, and a public meeting may be held July 8 to discuss the proposals, Mr. Dugan said. The board must make a decision at its July 17 meeting, and any changes could be implemented within a couple weeks after a vote, officials said Thursday.

Mr. Dugan said fixed bus route cuts would include the Care-a-van service for the disabled.

While CARTA will consider ways to raise more revenue, Mr. Jett said, bringing in more money should not be depended on as a quick fix to the agency’s budget problems.

“These are longer-term possibilities,” he said. “We need to be careful to the extent that we rely on revenue enhancements to balance next year’s budget. We need to be absolutely sure that we’re doing so responsibly.”

During Thursday’s meeting, Mr. Dugan said he thought the budget gap was only about $1 million a couple weeks ago, but now he wonders if the shortfall could be higher. The rising expense for fuel is burdening CARTA as it approaches the new fiscal year, which starts July 1, he said.

Every one-cent increase in diesel fuel costs the agency almost $5,000 a year in added expense, Mr. Dugan has said.

Mr. Dugan said that fixed bus route service reductions would impact riders who depend on the bus to get to work, while shutting down the shuttle could harm the city’s convention business and mean more people have to drive their cars around downtown.

City Councilwoman Sally Robinson said Thursday that, with soaring fuel prices, Chattanooga must be able to provide both fixed route and electric shuttle service to help people get around. She said she does not want service cuts that force people to use cars rather than CARTA or that impair their ability to get to work.

“That’s going in the wrong direction,” she said.

In other business Thursday, the CARTA board approved fixed-route rate increases that go into effect June 30. Among the changes, bus fares will rise from $1.25 to $1.50.