{"id":48499,"date":"2021-02-16T19:14:59","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T02:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-transit-contemplates-funding-as-shortfall-looms\/"},"modified":"2021-02-17T02:14:59","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T02:14:59","slug":"durango-transit-contemplates-funding-as-shortfall-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-transit-contemplates-funding-as-shortfall-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango Transit contemplates funding as shortfall looms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Georgia
Georgia Anderson, who is visually impaired, has been dependent on Durango Transit to get around town for groceries and medical appointments. Service cuts in 2018 made traveling harder for her and other regulars on the bus.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Lissa Scott, a 28-year-old single mom, uses Durango Transit to take her son to school and get to work.<\/p>\n

Patterson Pinto, 52, hopes to use it for a job at Mercy Regional Medical Center, even if it means working the night shift to be able to catch the bus.<\/p>\n

Georgia Anderson, 70, said route cuts in 2018 made it harder for her to get around. For her, a changed bus stop made a big difference.<\/p>\n

The majority of transit riders in Durango are dependent on the service, but even after route cuts in 2018, funding the service is still a puzzle.<\/p>\n

In 2017, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced it would be cutting grant funding to Durango Transit by about 55%. Public meetings were held and routes were eliminated. The drawdown would take place over five years, with the biggest funding drop in 2023, the city and state agreed.<\/p>\n

With two years left, the city is still looking for ways to fill the funding gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, funding would come from multiple sources in order to be the most equitable and sustainable,\u201d said Sarah Dodson Hill, Durango\u2019s assistant director of transportation. \u201cPublic transit funding is quite a puzzle that will require a lot of participation from different sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

The largest source of funding for Durango Transit operating costs comes from a federal grant administered by CDOT, the 5311 grant.<\/p>\n

Before 2018, the transit service received about $914,000 annually from the grant, which supported $2.5 million in operating costs. By 2023, it will receive about $414,000.<\/p>\n

The state decreased funding to Durango while trying to equitably distribute the federal grant money between a growing number of Colorado transit agencies, said David Krutsinger, CDOT director of transit, in an email to The Durango Herald<\/em>.<\/p>\n

To prepare for decreasing revenue, city staff members decided to cut certain routes based on public feedback and usage data.<\/p>\n

Durango Transit dropped the Crestview-U.S. Highway 160 route, the Mercy-Three Springs route and portions of the Fort Lewis College route. The city partnered with Road Runner Transit to provide some rides to Mercy Regional Medical Center. With the cuts, the city spends $2 million annually on Durango Transit operational costs.<\/p>\n

Daily commutes<\/div>\n

Anderson, a resident at Cedar View Apartments, said she used the bus to go everywhere \u2013 the grocery store, Walgreens pharmacy, the Mercy clinic at Horse Gulch. Even with lower capacity on buses to minimize spread of COVID-19, she still uses it once or twice a week.<\/p>\n

\"Riders,
Riders, like Georgia Anderson, call public transit a &#x201c;lifeline.&#x201d; With state funding decreasing, the city is searching for sustainable funding options to expand its service.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI really am trying to live where I can walk a lot. If I can stay healthy enough and stay mobile, I\u2019ll just take the bus as close as where I\u2019m going and walk the rest,\u201d she said. \u201cBut there are people I live with who can\u2019t walk.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the route cuts made it harder, she said. For example, she now has to cross more streets to leave the Durango Transit Center, her new stop to visit the grocery store.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to get off at the Transit Center. I\u2019m blind. I have to cross two streets,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cSometimes, people yell at me, saying look both ways. I\u2019m like, \u2018I didn\u2019t see you \u2013 I\u2019m blind.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the route cuts in 2018, Pinto used to take the night bus for her shifts as a certified nursing assistant in Three Springs. She\u2019d get off at 6 a.m. and wait at Mercy hospital for an hour to catch the bus home.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s searching for new jobs, including positions at Mercy. She\u2019s already planning around transit, anticipating taking the night shift again to make sure she can get to work.<\/p>\n

Taking the day shift? \u201cThat would be nice,\u201d Pinto said. \u201cI\u2019m a morning person to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott, who started using the bus in 2020, takes her son to Needham Elementary School four days a week. The round-trip commute would be six minutes in a car, if she had one. On the bus, it takes an hour, she said.<\/p>\n

The main challenge for her is the limited capacity to maintain social distancing on buses as a way to minimize the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe customer service we get from Transit is amazing. \u2026 Everybody\u2019s super friendly,\u201d Scott said. \u201cTransit really is a lifeline. I don\u2019t want to complain too much because it\u2019s what we depend on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future of funding<\/div>\n

Durango Transit still provides rides seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with 20- to 30-minute wait times, depending on the route.<\/p>\n

The state also awarded Durango $623,000 in coronavirus relief funds to enhance access to medical services at Mercy for residents. That money has to be spent by the end of 2021. Other federal COVID-19 relief funds will be awarded in 2021, which can be spent after the end of the year, Krutsinger said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it isn\u2019t sustainable, it is an opportunity to increase service out there for the time being,\u201d Dodson Hill said.<\/p>\n

\"About
About 79% of riders, like Georgia Anderson, are dependent on Durango Transit to get around town. The transit service, however, does not have enough funding to return to its pre-2018 levels, when some routes were dropped.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The cost to reinstate the eliminated routes would be about $434,000, in addition to the $2 million the city is already spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the service reductions we made in 2018, we do have a sustainable budget,\u201d she said. \u201cBut that does not meet the demand for increased service area or increased service hours. It doesn\u2019t allow us to hit those marks of very convenient service that the public really wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past, Dodson Hill said the public has asked for transit service to outlying areas, such as Hermosa, Hesperus, Durango-La Plata Airport and Durango West. People also want increased service hours and shorter intervals between buses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be our ultimate goal. We know that our riders are about 79% transit dependent,\u201d Dodson Hill said. \u201cWe want to create a service that\u2019s very convenient, useful, safe and reliable. I feel like people who are dependent on the service deserve increased capacity on the routes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durango is looking for a sustainable, local source of funding, such as public-private partnerships or sales tax increases.<\/p>\n

Of the state\u2019s 10 largest rural transit agencies, eight either have sales or property taxes or both dedicated to local transit service, Krutsinger said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurango is in the minority of those agencies not having a dedicated local funding source,\u201d he said. \u201cDurango Transit\u2019s financial situation is made more complex by a key activity center, the hospital, residing in unincorporated La Plata County.\u201d<\/p>\n

One option might be the proposed lodgers tax increase, which is on the ballot this April. The tax, paid by people staying at hotels, motels or other vacation rentals, would add about $500,000 annually to the transit budget.<\/p>\n

With that funding, the city would be able to maintain its pre-COVID-19 service level. It would be able to do some modest, sustainable enhancements, Dodson Hill said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do anticipate that as this cliff year comes closer, these conversations are going to become more eminent,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are expecting to make some progress toward funding sources pretty soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the regulars on the bus, having service at all is a necessity and expanded service opens up new opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a single parent, this being our main form of transportation, it gets us to doctor\u2019s appointments, school, groceries, play dates. It literally does everything we need. It\u2019s affordable,\u201d Scott said. \u201cWe really, really depend on the bus system. Without it, we would be stranded.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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