Sales tax increase for METRO RTA on March ballot
By Maria Lindsay
SUMMIT COUNTY — The Akron METRO RTA Board of Trustees is asking voters to approve a .25 percent sales tax increase, which will appear on the March 4 Primary Election ballot, or face cuts in service shortly thereafter.
The board voted Nov. 28 to place the issue on the ballot and to conduct public meetings to determine the impact of proposed cuts to be adopted if the increase does not pass.
“METRO provides vital transportation
to individuals each day
so they can get to work, to school, to shop and to medical
appointments,” said METRO Executive Director Robert
Pfaff. “Older adults, persons with disabilities
and many people with limited incomes rely heavily on
METRO.”
If approved by voters, collection
for the sales tax would begin July 1, and it is expected
to generate $18 million, according to transit officials.
METRO officials said the revenue generated by the sales
tax is needed to address a $1.8 million deficit projected
for 2008 and a $1 million deficit in 2009.
Officials added METRO, the public
transition provider for Summit County, has experienced
triple-digit increases in fuel costs and doubled its
insurance costs since 2000.
The organization has raised bus fares by 60 percent,
cut more than 30 percent in service, eliminated 52 employees
and frozen wages in the last three years.
“Without additional income,
METRO and METRO SCAT will face some of the most critical
service cuts in its history,” Pfaff said.
METRO SCAT is a personalized,
prearranged transportation service for older adults
and people with disabilities.
The proposed cuts would be implemented
over a two-year period and include:
• For April 2008: eliminating
all Saturday and Sunday service, Route 23 for Portage/Graham
and Route 110 for Green/Springfield, reducing late night
service by 40 percent and
raising the Cleveland express fare to $5 per trip.
• For 2009: eliminating
METRO SCAT, Route 111 for South Main/Waterloo and late
night zones, as well as cuts to evening service on Routes
50 (Montrose circulator), 101 (Richfield/Bath), 102
(Northfield/Twinsburg) and 103 (Stow/Hudson).
Some of the public meetings to
discuss the proposed cuts scheduled to take place in
the West Side Leader coverage area include: today, Dec.
6, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Richfield Library,
3761 Grant St.; tomorrow, Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon
at the Cuyahoga Falls Library, 2015 Third St. and from
2 to 4 p.m. at the Barberton Library, 602 W. Park Ave.;
Dec. 13 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the North Hill Branch
Library, 183 E. Cuyahoga Falls
Ave., and from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Main Branch Library,
60 S. High St. in Downtown Akron; Dec. 17 from 6 to
8 p.m. at the Fairlawn-Bath Branch Library, 3101 Smith
Road; and Dec. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon at Maple Valley
Branch Library, 1187 Copley Road, and from 5 to 7 p.m.
at Northwest Akron Branch Library, 1720 Shatto Ave.
METRO RTA offers a variety of
services, including:
√ line service over 37
routes, with a $1 fare charged for adults and 50 cents
to senior citizens and riders with a disability, and
two daily express routes to Cleveland offered for $3
each way. Monthly passes are discounted;
√ Americans With Disabilities
Act complementary paratransit,
a specialized and scheduled transportation for people
with disabilities that prevent them from using regular
bus service, at $2 each way;
√ Passport and Title III,
contracted through the Area Agency on Aging, for older
adults;
√ EMT Service, for passengers
requiring access to emergency medical services such
as dialysis;
√ Job Access and Reverse
Commute, specialized routes for Summit County’s
Welfare-to-Work program clients; and
√ Transportation for Akron
Public Schools students who travel to school outside
their immediate neighborhood and for University of Akron
students, along a preset loop around campus.
For more information, visit www.akronmetro.org or
call (330) 564-2257.
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