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Minnesota's Public Transit Systems

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Minnesota's Public Transit Systems Minnesota’s Public Transit Systems Providing Mobility And Independence Getting People to Work Name: Alice Merkens Address: 505 West Main Street, Ada, MN 56510 Date: 1/15/10 System: Tri-Valley Transportation Comment: ‘I use T.H.E. Bus to get to my weekly hair appointments here in Ada and I also go on some of their Special Trips. I think it’s a real good service and the driver is always helpful. Now that I don’t drive too often it’s even more important that this service continues and I know my daughter appreciates it so she doesn’t worry about me driving or having to adjust her schedule to drive me around. Having a bus service here in our small community is very important and it’s appreciated by those who depend on it. Name: Marlene Hitner Address: 705 West Main Street #108 , Ada, MN Date: 2009-2010 Comment: “I ride T.H.E. Bus off-and-on for local outings and to go out of town to shop and visit my sister. I think T.H.E. Bus is wonderful! It gets me to the towns I want and need to get to and having local weekly service right here in Ada is really helpful especially since I don’t drive. I think the cost for riding is reasonable and with the price of gas you sure couldn’t drive to Fargo/Moorhead or Crookston for the same amounts. “Having T.H.E. Bus service means I don’t have to depend on others and I can stay active – It couldn’t be any better!” Minnesota Public Transit Association 525 Park Street, Ste. 240 St. Paul, MN 55103 651-659-0804 www.mpta-transit.org December, 2010 Minnesota is facing significantly tough economic times. Investing now in public transportation can help us get out of this mess. For every $1 invested in public transportation, $4 is generated in economic returns. Every $1 billion invested in public transportation creates 36,000 jobs. Simply put, public transportation creates jobs and stimulates our economy. Public transportation is a $48.4 billion industry in America that employs more than 380,000 people Minnesota needs to invest now to reduce our dependence on foreign oil so we can create long term growth, stability, and national security. Nationally, public transportation allows us to save 900,000 automobile fill-ups each day. Public transportation is the one thing we can do now to make a responsible environmental choice. Individually, there may be no better choice for reducing your personal carbon footprint: switching to public transportation reduces individual carbon emissions by 20 pounds per day or 4,800 pounds per year. Public transportation reduces traffic congestion and provides the options Americans need, right now, to get our citizens to and from work efficiently and effectively. Each year, public transportation saves hundreds of millions of hours in travel time, which in turn, reduces stress and decreases congestion on our busy roadways. No matter where you live, in a city, suburb, or beyond, there are public transportation choices you can call on to link you to your job, church, or doctor. Families can save money. The average household spends 18 cents of every dollar on transportation, and 94% of this goes to buying, maintaining, and operating cars, the largest expenditure after housing. Public transportation provides an affordable, and for many, necessary, alternative to driving. Households that are likely to use public transportation on a given day save over $9,000 every year. We need to plan for a growing, older population now. Not only will Minnesota’s population grow, the state will have many more residents age 65 or older. Our transportation system will need to change to accommodate this changing demographic with additional transit service. Public transit is a critical element of our state’s transportation system. Thousands of Minnesotans rely on transit every day and demand is growing as people need more options to get to work and other important destinations. Minnesotans need additional transit service to access important destinations including medical facilities and businesses. The estimated unmet need for Metropolitan Area Transit is $269 million per year between now and 2020. The unmet need for funding Greater Minnesota Transit is $20 to $30 million per year to 2020. The Minnesota Public Transit Association (MPTA) is a statewide coalition of transit systems and advocates working to improve transit services throughout the state. MPTA has been speaking out on the importance of transit service and mobilizing supporters for over 30 years. Our members are on the front lines, providing transit service every day. MPTA was involved in the campaign to pass a Constitutional Amendment dedicating all of the proceeds from the motor vehicle sales tax to transportation as well as efforts to pass the 2008 Transportation Funding bill (Chapter 152, 2008 Session Laws) and continues to be involved in transportation coalitions, working on critical transportation issues. We’re ready to provide information, expertise and commitment to working on public policy that supports Minnesota’s transit systems. More information about transit in Minnesota and MPTA’s legislative agenda can be found at: www.mpta-transit.org 1 Public transportation is critical to Minnesota’s economy - for every $1 invested in public transportation, $4 is generated in economic returns. Three Minnesotans used public transportation every second of every day in 2008. Public transportation gets people where they need to go whether it’s to work, to medical appointments, to shopping to school or visit family, transit service provides mobility and options for residents all across Minnesota. Transit systems help reduce congestion, improve air quality, provide mobility for people who can’t drive, and help people remain independent. Transit service contributes to the development of livable communities that attract businesses and residents. In 2008 (calendar year), public transportation systems funded by Mn/DOT and the Metropolitan Council provided almost 106 million trips statewide with an investment of $403.6 million. Greater Minnesota In Greater Minnesota, changing mobility needs of individuals and the workforce will place larger demands on public transit systems over the next 20 years. Greater Minnesota’s population is expected to increase by over 30% from 2000 to 2030 with the largest population gains in residents over 65. The changing composition of Minnesota’s population through fluctuations in ethnic and racial makeup, poverty rates, and numbers of people with disabilities will make access to transportation even more critical in the future. The Greater Minnesota Transit Plan 2010-2030 projects future need for transit service with a target of meeting 80% of projected need. For Greater Minnesota, this transit service target equates to: 1.593 million bus service hours in 2020 1.728 million bus service hours in 2030 Graph I shows the gap between these transit service targets (line) and projected future transit service levels (bars) out to 2030. Future transit service levels were based on estimated available funding. These estimates assume that the state general fund remains at its base level of $17.261 million, the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) increases by 3% annually, federal funds remain at the 2008 base level and local funds continue to match the other three sources at their 2008 average of 30%. (Note that the local match required by statute is 15% for rural areas and 20% for urban. These are being greatly exceeded.) A widening funding gap for both operating and capital expenses is projected after 2010 due to increasing demand and declining purchasing power of projected revenues. 2 Transit Systems in Greater Minnesota Greater Minnesota Transit $10.7 – Fed $10.2M – $5.7M - Fed $6.6 M - Fed Fed $18.4M – State Share $18.3M – State Share $18.2M – $17.6M – State Share State Share $9M – MVST $7.5M – $7M – MVST MVST $7.2M – MVST $16.7M – $14.2M – Local Share $12.8M – $14M – Local Share Local Share Local Share $43.3M $46.4M $49.6M $55.6M 2005 2006 2007 2008 *See Appendix A for a list of Transit Systems with contact information and legislative districts served. 3 Urban Transit Systems The cities of Duluth, East Grand Forks, La Crescent, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud operate both fixed- route and dial-a-ride services within their respective communities. Combined, their fixed-route services provide almost 66 percent of all public transit rides in Greater Minnesota. In addition, their dial-a-ride services for persons with disabilities provide another 2 percent of the rides in Greater Minnesota. Four of these six cities are located on Minnesota’s borders and coordinate their services with neighboring communities in North Dakota and Wisconsin. Rural and Small Urban Transit Systems Greater Minnesota has 41 rural public transit systems that operate demand response and/or deviated route services and supplement their services by utilizing volunteer driver programs. These systems primarily provide countywide of multi-county service but also include service in a few smaller cities with populations less than 2,500. In 2008, rural transit systems provided over 23 percent of all public transit rides in Greater Minnesota. Arrowhead Transit is one of the largest rural systems in the nation; it operates in Northeastern Minnesota with service in 7 counties and annually logs 1.5 million miles. Small urban systems operate in 13 Greater Minnesota cities with populations between 2,500 and 50,000 and provide more than 8 percent of all rides in Greater Minnesota. Like the rural systems, the small urban systems operate demand response and/or deviated route services with one exception, Mankato. Greater Mankato Transit, the largest small urban system in Greater Minnesota, operates both fixed-route and dial-a-ride services.
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