May 5, 2010


In the News:
Circulator bus for Desert Ridge a budget victim, The Arizona Republic, April 29, 2010
State’s cash grab imperils Dial-a-Ride service in Valley, The Arizona Republic, May 4, 2010
Riders plea for fewer Chandler transit cuts, The Arizona Republic, May 4, 2010

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Circulator bus for Desert Ridge a budget victim
by Cathryn Creno 
Apr. 29, 2010 09:24 AM
The Arizona Republic

Just two and a half years after it began running, the Desert Ridge circulator bus known as DASH will shut off its engines for the last time.

It was doomed by a state budget crunch and ridership totals far below what city officials predicted.

The Phoenix City Council voted Tuesday on how to deal with the loss of $9.2 million in Lottery Transit Assistance Funds handed out by the state. The Legislature killed the program as a way to deal with the state's budget shortfall.

The council also killed a circulator bus for the Deer Valley area. Like the Desert Ridge bus, it had few regular users.

The Desert Ridge bus, which was cut back by half in July 2009, covered a route that included Mayo Clinic Hospital, Desert Ridge Marketplace, Pinnacle High School, JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort, Explorer Middle School and CityNorth.

The council agreed to keep three other circulator buses, in Ahwatukee, Maryvale and Sunnyslope. Hours and service will be cut 50 percent in July.

The free neighborhood buses cost $5.3 million a year to operate and bring in no revenue. City staff proposed cutting the service entirely, but neighborhood advocates succeeded in preserving the three circulators.

Discontinuing the two north Phoenix circulators and the cutbacks on the other routes will save the city $3.2 million a year. The $2.1 million difference will be taken out of general bus service, with reduced and realigned routes.

About 1,000 people in Ahwatukee use the bus. The Maryvale circulator attracts 2,000 riders a day, while the Sunnyslope bus draws about 1,800 a day. By contrast, the buses in Deer Valley and Desert Ridge had fewer than 200 riders a day.

Yvette Roeder, public information officer for the Phoenix Public Transit Department, said her department's planners will evaluate the committee recommendations and come up with new routes and schedules that meet the communities' wants and the city's budget needs. She said the changes will be announced later this spring and take effect in July.

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State's cash grab imperils Dial-a-Ride service in Valley
by Sonu Munshi 
May. 4, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Pam Allan has learned to deal with degenerative discs, pinched nerves and neck problems that often render her immobile. She has even learned to live with the long commute to and from her north Phoenix home. But the thought of further cuts in her savior of 12 years - the Dial-a-Ride system that largely serves the disabled and seniors - has the 66-year-old stressed to near "ulcer-causing levels."

"If Dial-a-Ride dried up for me, I couldn't get to work, I couldn't go to the doctor, I couldn't do everyday things I need to," Allan said.

Earlier this year, a legislative sweep of state Lottery funds that help pay for Dial-a-Ride service forced cities and towns to scrimp on the transit service or cut elsewhere to compensate.

Bryan Jungwirth, president of the Arizona Transit Association, described the $34 million funds sweep as "a crippling loss for transit in Arizona."

Forty percent of the Lottery Transportation Assistance Fund had gone to Dial-a-Ride.

The state now is one of five that provide no public-transit funding. The others are Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii and Utah.

The impact, especially in rural Arizona, may be "devastating" because a lot of transit there is done through non-profits that rely solely on the Lottery money as the local match to obtain federal funds, Jungwirth said.

Statewide, he warned, municipal cutbacks to fixed routes could affect Dial-a-Ride. Federal law requires any area that is served by a fixed bus route to have comparable service for the disabled.

Valley Metro, the agency that handles public transit for municipalities in the Phoenix area, will hold public hearings this month to discuss proposed cuts to fixed routes and Dial-a-Ride.

Phoenix alone lost $9.2 million in Lottery funds. As a result, the city cut service from 10 p.m. to midnight and eliminated same-day service, so users have to book a ride at least a day in advance.

Marc Schmidt, president of the West Valley chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, said the loss of same-day service hurts a system already "overtaxed and inefficient."

Scottsdale, which lost $1.3 million, is considering serving only the disabled, which could affect many seniors who had come to depend on the service. The city also may restrict a taxi service called Cab Connection to those who are Americans with Disabilities Act-certified.

"We know it will impact our senior residents, and it's hard to make those decisions, but we're doing the best we can under the circumstances," said transportation spokeswoman Annie DeChance.

Surprise officials, pressured by citizen groups, backtracked on cuts and found other ways to deal with the loss of funds.

Some municipal officials are frustrated as residents tend to direct their anger at them for cutting back services.

At a recent City Council meeting, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said, "We're the lowest on the totem pole, and our citizens are being dumped on by the state."

In Glendale, Peoria and Chandler, which don't plan immediate Dial-a-Ride cuts, officials say there's no way to know what will happen next.

That has many concerned.

"Many wheelchair users who are working and pay taxes can't access (traditional) city transportation, but they also can't pay the high cost of cabs. Dial-a-Ride is it," said David Carey of Arizona Bridge to Independent Living.

Riders said alternatives that some cities have offered, such as taxi service with reduced-fare coupons, do not go far enough in covering costs.

Paul Senseman, spokesman for Gov. Jan Brewer, defended the funds sweep, saying the measures were necessary to balance the state budget.

"The governor clearly believes tough choices have to be made in budgeting," Senseman said, adding, "Nothing prevents local governments from providing local funding."

Reporter Gary Nelson contributed to this article.

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Riders plea for fewer Chandler transit cuts
Chandler residents say early, late runs needed
by Edythe Jensen 
May. 4, 2010 03:11 PM
The Arizona Republic

Proposed cuts to Chandler bus service have some residents worried about getting to work or school on time and losing their jobs.

They were among an audience of about 25 who told their stories at a public meeting last week and pleaded with city officials to preserve some routes and schedules. When one person in the audience asked the others who rode a bus to the evening hearing, about half raised their hands.

"We're not cutting transit because we want to but because the state balanced its budget with city funds," Deputy Public Works Director Dan Cook said.

The state took all cities' Local Transportation Assistance Funds that had been contributing about $1 million a year to Chandler's mass-transit system.

The routes to be cut and by how much remains uncertain. But the city needs the savings to equal at least $1 million. Most vulnerable are early-morning and late-evening stops, weekend service and routes with low ridership.

Several at the meeting said bus cuts could bring them personal financial woes or affect their ability to attend school.

"I need to get to work early. I could lose my job," Micki Duffy, 52, said.

With no car and a complex itinerary of bus transfers, Duffy said she is worried that cuts to early-morning service could make it impossible for her to get to work by 7:30 a.m. Duffy said she recently negotiated the start time with her boss because of the bus schedules. Her work day was supposed to begin at 7 a.m.

Denny Khav, 20, takes the bus to classes at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, and for shopping at the mall and recreation. He said he is worried the proposed changes could conflict with class schedules and is disappointed the city doesn't have more extensive service.

A fan of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Victor Peterson, 59, said shortened bus hours will restrict his ability to get to the park during cooler summer evening times. The two routes he takes to get to the park - 72 and 156 - are on the list for possible cuts to early-morning and evening hours.

Residents who ride on the express Route 540 to downtown Phoenix that's scheduled for elimination submitted a petition to retain it. Cook said earlier that there is a second express route from Chandler to downtown Phoenix with fewer stops and that the eliminated route has few Chandler riders. However, some members of the group protesting elimination of Route 540 said the stops for the other express route are too far from their homes and they would be unable to walk to them.

Another express route set for elimination, 511, was launched in 2008 to connect the Southeast Valley to Scottsdale Airpark along Loop 101. Cook said ridership has been very low. No one at the public meeting objected to its demise.

Fares cover 8 percent of the city's transit costs. The city targeted routes with low ridership for cuts, Cook told the audience. Some of the cost-cutting measures include reducing trips on selected routes, eliminating some early-morning, late-evening or weekend service and changing routes to make them shorter or more efficient. There are no cuts to Dial-a-Ride.

However, some at the meeting said they were frustrated because a long list of proposed cuts on the city website didn't exactly match a mapped list passed out at the public session. Cook said cities must make public a complete list of any route that could possibly be cut even though all of them won't be. A revised listing will likely be posted before the city Transportation Commission discusses them June 17, he said.

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