News & Notices City of Annapolis - transportation changes
City of Annapolis - transportation changes

City mulls $1.5M in transit savings

Proposes raising bus fares, using new parking meters

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Published 05/26/10

 
Annapolis is looking for ways to cut $1.5 million out of a deficit-plagued transit system that costs taxpayers $2 million a year to operate. Chief Administrative Officer Doug Smith detailed actions yesterday that would change not only how people use buses in the city, but also how they park their cars. Some measures would generate more revenue, while others would cut expenses. "Right now we have some major challenges with us that we need to deal with rather urgently," Smith said during a joint meeting of the new City Council Transportation Committee and the recently reinstated Transportation Board. Council members said Smith's plan is a way to save money without drastically affecting services or costing city residents more money.
 
It takes about $5.4 million to run city buses, but even after accounting for fares, advertising and other revenues, the system operates at a $2 million annual loss. The city primarily fills that hole with money collected from parking meters and garages.
Smith's plan would reduce that deficit to around $500,000 by:

Ending parking leases for state employees in the city-owned Gotts and Hillman garages downtown. That would free as many as 146 spaces, allowing the city to lease them to city residents on a waiting list for $200 per month. The state currently pays $20 per month per space under a contract that expires June 30.
Reducing shuttle service for state employees parking at Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium until state compensation matches the cost.
Freeing spaces for downtown shoppers in the Hillman Garage off Main Street by moving some city employees to another city parking facility and shuttling them to their offices.
Accepting new bids to run the city garages.
Installing credit-card readers in downtown garages.
Replacing traditional parking meters with "pay and display devices" similar to the ones used at City Dock. Smith said they generate more money.
Increasing bus fares from $1 to $1.50.
Reducing the bus system's hours of operation.
Smith said these changes would need several layers of approval and, in some cases, require public hearings. He also said he is in negotiations with the Maryland Transit Authority to reduce the city's portion of the expenses for the bus system. Currently, the city and state each pay around $1.25 million; Smith hopes to reduce the city share to around $400,000.
Council members said Smith's measures could strengthen finances as Mayor Josh Cohen tries to fill a budget gap of at least $4.5 million, most likely by cutting city employees. "A lot of these (measures) are long overdue. I was on the transportation committee on (Cohen's) transition team and there was an understanding that we weren't getting the full value" from parking and buses, said Alderman Ian Pfeiffer, D-Ward 7, the Transportation Committee chairman. Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson, D-Ward 4, asked the Transportation Board to review the proposals quickly. The council needs to know if there will be additional revenues and fewer expenses before it votes on the budget June 7.
Some details of Smith's proposals still need to be settled. For example, when state employees vacate their parking spaces in city garages, city officials must decide if those spaces could be leased on a monthly basis or left open for hourly parking.
The Transportation Committee decided yesterday that the 16 spaces state employees occupy at the Hillman Garage should be left open for general hourly parking after they are vacated June 30. But board members did not decide what to do with the 130 soon-to-be vacated spaces in Gotts, off Northwest Street.

Besides the measures Smith detailed yesterday, other changes in the transit system are also in motion. The city is in the process of eliminating the C-60 line to BWI Thurgood MarshallAirport, Arundel Mills mall in Hanover and the Cromwell Light Rail Station in Glen Burnie. The C-60 charges riders $4 but costs the city around $25 per trip. Also, the city is considering going from a "pulse" system with a central transfer point at Spa Road to an "arterial" system with four transfer points. In addition, the city has partnered with the Community Transportation Association of America, a consulting company that will provide advice on how to best run the transit system. The association isn't charging the city for its services.
 

Connections

News & Notices

Current Air Quality

RSS Feed