NashTransit

Today, the U.S. House considers HR 6052, the "Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008. I still need to read it more thoroughly, but it looks like a good plan. If you agree, hurry and tell your representative!

Metro Council votes on a substitute budget tomorrow, that would give MTA $1 million more. Obviously, great news.

Now according to this article, $200,000 of that was already promised by Karl Dean. Color me confused, but wasn't it Dean's own proposed budget that cut MTA by $400,000? Perhaps someone wiser in the ways of Metro budgets can straighten me out on where this came from. Also, that $200,000 goes towards buses for magnet schools, which weren't cut to begin with. So unless I'm missing something, that doesn't count towards MTA's budget shortfall. Right?

So with $800,000 for MTA to work with, I don't think we're looking at all seven routes getting restored. Still, better than nothing!

I hope that in the coming year some serious thought is given to finding real, stable funding for MTA. If gas prices continue to rise and no substantial changes are made, the same thing is going to happen next year, and it won't be any less painful. What can be done, and what changes can MTA itself make to ensure its long-term growth?

MSNBC has put together an interesting analysis of nationwide trends in driving and public transportation use. In some cities, transit authorities are actually having trouble just keeping up with increased demand.

One interesting point the article brings up - as public transportation use rises, fewer people drive cars - meaning less gas tax revenue for the government. So maybe it isn't a very good idea to tie gas taxes to public transit? Perhaps Charlotte has the right idea.

According to the Tennessean, Metro Council may approve the 2008-09 operating budget on June 17, about a week early.

[Budget and Finance Committee chair Erik] Cole said the council might still try to find more money for the Metro Transit Authority, which is planning to cut seven bus routes and raise fares by 25 cents to help make up a $2.9 million budget gap. But doing so could add to the pain for other agencies that are already scheduled to see their funding reduced.

"If there's a single priority that kind of cuts across the board, it's MTA," Cole said. "But there's not a lot of room."

That's good to hear. Still one wonders how hard it really could be to find $1.5 million (assuming the fare hike stays in place) out of a $1.576 billion budget.

I'd never been to a Metro Council meeting before, so I don't know what an average night looks like. But to me, it sure seemed like a whole lot of people speaking up for MTA. Quite a wide variety of people and perspectives, from the personal to the business-minded. Tonight the Council saw an excellent cross-section of people who value public transit.

More from the Tennessean

But at least it's bright, colorful, noticeable, and on every bus stop sign I saw between work and home.

If you missed the Tennessean today, here are links to two guest columns, the Tennessean's editorial, and letters:

• Decisions at MTA have been difficult - Gail Carr Williams, MTA Board Chair
• Cuts in MTA routes send wrong message - Jerry L. Maynard II, Metro councilman at large
• Many of MTA's daily riders have no option but the bus
• Reader Views

From the Tennessean's editorial:

It should be extremely frustrating for Nashville, where mass transit has been tapping its fingers on the table waiting for commuters to wake up and smell the advantages of bus service, to see costs work against riders at the same time riders are showing more interest in mass transit. The demand and the availability of service are suddenly going in opposite directions. Nashville knows mass transit must be part of the city's future. The city must know that steps that hurt riders can't possibly be part of the answer.