2005-03-29_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Member Willenbring said they will need to raise the fares to cover fuel costs. Member Rossini said he would gladly pay the extra fare to keep the routes open. Member Wilke said someone has to be monitoring the ridership to make the decisions on which routes to reduce. Member Anderson asked how they chose the reductions—what criteria were used. Schwartz said that nothing specific was provided by Metro Transit, but the highest subsidized routes were the first hit. Member Willenbring said that maybe if they kept the fares lower more people would ride. Schwartz said that even on the busiest routes the fares don’t cover the cost of the route. All routes are subsidized to some degree. Member Wilke said this isn’t the first time reductions have been made in the bus routes. We lived through previous changes, and we’ll live through these. Public hearing dates are: For the East Metro - Monday, April 18, 6:30 – 8:30 at the Maplewood Community Center For the North Metro – Tuesday, April 19, 6:30 – 8:30 at the Fridley Community Center For the South Metro – Wednesday, April 20, 5:00 – 7:00 at the Burnsville City Hall In St. Paul - Wednesday, April 13, 11:30 – 1:30 at the Met Council Chambers Additional meeting times can be found on the Met Council website www.mettransit.org. Schwartz asked the Commission what if any action they wanted to take. Member Rossini said we could send Metro Transit a letter asking them to reconsider and if it’s possible to look at the ridership in the areas to be cut so we can better evaluate it. Member Wilke asked what affect the reductions would have on Transtop’s proposal for new bus shelters. Schwartz said that there have been discussions, and Transtop will look at the proposed reductions and evaluate them. Schwartz said the City Council will be discussing this at the April 11 meeting. Page 3 of 5