NashTransit

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?

# posted by dotsandlines @ 9:26 PM