By James Carlson, Topeka Capital-Journal, February 06, 2009
The Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority would stimulate its aging fleet with eight new buses under the U.S. House's version of the economic recovery plan.
Janlyn Nesbett-Tucker, TMTA's chief executive officer, said Thursday she was thrilled by the prospect of receiving $2.9 million under the package and hoped it wouldn't be stripped as past promises of funding have been.
"I'm hopeful," she said. "It's not just the East Coast and West Coast that need this. We have public transit needs right here."
The money is part of a $31.5 million chunk Kansas would receive in urban and rural transit funds inside the stimulus plan.
A federal formula divvies up the remaining funds:
The disparity between Topeka's funding and that of Wichita and Johnson County is likely due to the federal funding formula, which considers ridership, among other factors, for cities larger than 200,000 but not for smaller cities. Topeka's funding formula is based strictly on population and population density.
The capital city has an annual ridership of around 1.7 million. Johnson County has around 470,000 annual riders.
Steve Swartz, spokesman for the Kansas Department of Transportation, emphasized the dollar numbers are preliminary as the U.S. Senate is still slogging through debate on its stimulus proposal. Once its version is complete, negotiators from both chambers will hammer out the final bill.
The transit money included in the House measure is to be spent only on capital improvements, such as buildings, bus stops or buses. For Topeka, the choice would be easy — buy new buses.
The TMTA has requested $15 million in earmarked federal funds each of the past few years but received only $300,000 from Congress since 2004. Topeka's bus fleet is flailing as a result, Nesbett-Tucker said. Forty-three buses are at retirement age.
"And that's not including expansion," she said.
Topekans have been riding the buses at record rates for the past year. Nesbett-Tucker said the system hasn't seen such ridership numbers since the 1940s and 1950s. The surging gas prices over the summer drove many to hop on the mass transit system, and the numbers have remained steady even as pump prices dropped.
"Every time we put a bus out there, it fills up," Nesbett-Tucker said.
Despite the bulging ridership numbers, the TMTA is bleeding financially.
Last month, it announced it would be ending Sunday and evening routes in an attempt to solve weakening revenue numbers. At the time, TMTA officials said the move would save 35,000 gallons of fuel, 150,000 miles of wear and tear on the buses, and 4,000 operator hours a year.
James Carlson can be reached at (785) 295-1186 or james.carlson@cjonline.com