On April 1, Durham County’s half-cent transit tax took effect. Higher fees are in place as well — all part of the plan to expand bus service and build a rail system. Durham expects to get its first cash infusion from the new pot of revenue in July. The spigot of new money for expansion comes as news emerges that Durham is in the red with its current bus system. So guess what?
Come September, it will cost $43 to register a car in Durham, up from the current $33. The increase is for expanding public transit, but Durham County commissioners voted March 11 to allow Triangle Transit to spend $3.50 of the county’s $7 fee to pay for increased DATA expenses.
Not all officials are comfortable with using it that way. Triangle Transit CEO DavidI King told Durham City Council members that taking part of the fee increase for current expenses means some of the money for new services that voters were promised is “off the table.”
And then there’s this:
DATA’s base fare has not changed since 2003, and over the past decade DATA has added discounts and free rides for children, students and the elderly. In 2003, fares paid 25 percent of operating costs; now, they pay 16 percent.
Raising the base fare to $1.25, with equivalent price changes for multi-ride passes and eliminating some free rides, would raise the share of operating costs covered by fares to 21.5 percent in fiscal year 2015-16 – even though any fare increase would likely decrease ridership.
And so it goes. I regularly pass DATA buses as I drive through and around Durham. Most times there aren’t enough people on the bus to hold batting practice. Most people don’t ride public transit unless they have no other option. Particularly in an area likes ours — in which we enjoy a rural-suburban lifestyle — people want the privacy and convenience of their own vehicle. Now we will see what Durham taxpayers get for the new money they’re forking over for more bus service and a rail line.
There is no doubt that North Carolina needs a long-term transportation plan to efficiently move people and goods and services through the state. I think expanded bus service on routes that are in demand and/or heavily used at peak hours of the day, makes sense to consider. Rail, however, doesn’t make sense for this area. The John Locke Foundation is offering transportation recommendations via analysis from Dr. David Hartgen, professor emeritus at UNC Charlotte. Hartgen is a transportation expert.
A revamped North Carolina transportation program should include merit-based project selection, an increased emphasis on road maintenance, and a funding solution for Interstate 95. Those are among the 20 immediate recommendations set out in a new Policy Report prepared for the John Locke Foundation.
The report’s authors note their recommendations would require no new revenue. “In total the 20 recommendations would save about $21 million annually and would substantially realign and refocus the transportation program on needed and affordable activities,” said lead author Dr. David Hartgen, professor emeritus of transportation studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and president of the Hartgen Group.
