Gov. Mike DeWine鈥檚 proposal to cut public transit funding by nearly 90 percent could mean fewer capital improvements for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority over the next two years. DeWine鈥檚 proposal, released last week, recommends a funding line for public transportation be cut from $70 million a year down to $7 million.
RTA received a total of about $25 million from the fund over the last two years, said Deputy General Manager of Engineering and Project Management Mike Schipper. Without continued state funding, he said, the transit agency will have to slow down some capital projects.
鈥淥ur unfunded backlog of capital programs is still $514 million,鈥� Schipper said. 鈥淚f we were to lose $15 and $10 again, that鈥檚 another $25, we fall farther and farther behind.鈥�
State funds in the past two years went toward the purchase of 16 buses and a contract to replace part of a rail line, Schipper said. The transit agency does have other funds it can use to make those kinds of investments, he said, but a funding cut means fewer new buses and slower progress.
鈥淪o we鈥檙e working with our state senators and state house representatives to see if they will put something in on their side,鈥� Schipper said. 鈥淭he governor鈥檚 initial proposal is just one piece of it. We鈥檙e working with our delegation to see if those funds can be restored.鈥�
Under DeWine鈥檚 proposal, Schipper said, it鈥檚 unlikely that RTA would receive much funding from the state at all.
鈥淎t those levels, they鈥檙e usually supporting the smaller transit authorities, so we wouldn鈥檛 be doing the things we鈥檝e done the last two years,鈥� he said.
The agency is also keeping an eye on federal policies on public transit, Schipper said, and looking into ways to receive support that way. The new Biden administration could bring about some options, he said, particularly from the Senate banking committee, headed by Ohio鈥檚 Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very exciting to have Sen. Brown in a position of strength leading his committee,鈥� Schipper said. 鈥淲e really hope and are working with our delegation to see if something will happen on the federal side.鈥�
RTA has lost ridership and sales tax revenue because of the ongoing pandemic. But federal funding has helped to bridge those gaps, Schipper said.
鈥淲e have been fortunate that the CARES money that we鈥檝e obtained really has helped us stabilize our operating budget for last year, this year and next year,鈥� Schipper said.
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