AURORA – RTD says it has to make some changes and board members say they are between a rock and a hard place. "We're having a crisis at RTD. Fuel prices have skyrocketed," said Board Member Bill McMullen. "For every penny gas goes up, it is $100,000 for the year. How many pennies did it go up last night?" RTD is facing a $15 million budget shortfall this year because the cost of fuel has gone up and the amount of sales tax revenue has gone down because people are spending less. "We're having a crisis at RTD. Fuel prices have skyrocketed," said board member Bill McMullen. "For every penny gas goes up, it is $100,000 for the year. How many pennies did it go up last night?" RTD says it is looking at all lines for cutbacks and fare increases, but had considered completely canceling all routes on the G line, which runs from Parker Road and I-225 to Lincoln and I-25. "We love taking public transportation. If the G line goes away or is cut too much, I'll be forced to drive my car again," said Linda Evans, a G line rider. After the turnout at a public meeting on Monday night by people who were supporting the G line, RTD says it will not cut the line, but will only have four trains running in the morning and four trains running in the evening. RTD says it is also considering a fuel surcharge for people who ride both buses and light rail, but that surcharge would only remain in place while gas prices were high. "RTD wants to get more riders, so it doesn't make sense for them to cut service or raise fares because it just becomes harder for people to utilize public transportation," said Steve Hulsberg, an RTD rider from Aurora. "We have to consider hard changes. Should we cut back routes, raise fares or should we do a little bit of both?" said McMullen. According to RTD, the lines with the fewest number of riders are those that are facing service cuts. There is no specific timeline on when the cuts will happen, but RTD says it will probably be within the next year.
It doesn't seem logical that they would cut a rail line using electricity for motive power instead of more drastic cuts on modes that utilize petro-based fuels. But then again maybe logic has changed since I went to school! CT
Charlie, your error is in assuming that bureaucrats are capable of logic. A baseless assumption, at least in this case.
Interesting how these things are supposed to be alternatives to petroleum powered transport. And in the end, they are difficult to seperate. In past threads I've tried to hint at some of the problems which most people have never seen. Boxcab E50
