Hopkins Prepares for Transit Cuts in Shadow of Government Shutdown

*Correction appended

The Metropolitan Council is bracing to lose 85 percent of the state's general fund contribution to transit for 2012-2013 if the Minnesota state legislature passes the latest budget plan at the end of the state government shutdown—a worst-case scenario reduction of $109 million.

If the actual budget echoes these projections, the Met Council says it will be forced to slash or limit 130 of 146 bus routes across the Twin Cities. It also faces elimination of most suburban local and crosstown bus routes and fare increases of 25 to 50 cents per ride. Met Council officials haven’t named specific routes for proposed cutting or reduced scheduling. Overall, a 25 percent reduction to service hours could be seen across the transit system.

The regional transportation network, including Metro Transit, has an annual budget of $375 million. But the challenge, according to John Levin, director of service development for Metro Transit, is responding to a proposed $109 million reduction in state funding for metro area transit.

Of course, with reduced operations comes reduced revenue from ridership. The Met Council anticipates losing as many as 17 million annual bus rides because of the reduced routes and increased fares.

“The only way to address this shortfall is to cut deeply into the services we provide,” Levin said.

In addition to the service cuts, the Met Council expects more than 500 regular route transit operators and related staff to lose their jobs, and more than 200 buses to go unused.

“This is the beginning of a process where we're looking to prepare for the worst, but truly hope for the best for the system and its future," said Jon Commers, vice chair of the council’s Community Development Committee and member of the Transportation Committee.

The Met Council is holding a second public meeting at the Minneapolis Central Library at 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. It is also planning seven public hearings to consider testimony from community members, including one at the .

Here are the dates, times and locations of these hearings:

• Aug. 8 – 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Bloomington Civic Plaza)
• Aug. 9 – 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Hopkins Center for the Arts)
• Aug. 10 – Noon to 1 p.m. (Minneapolis Central Library)
• Aug. 11 – 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. (Maplewood Library)
• Aug. 15 – 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Brookdale Library, Brooklyn Center)
• Aug. 16 – 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. (Metro Transit Offices , Minneapolis)
• Aug. 18 – Noon to 1 p.m. (Metropolitan Council Offices , Saint Paul)

Met Council aims to finalize plans for fares and service routes by September and implement changes by early 2012.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the number of riders the Met Council expects to lose in the event of the proposed cuts. That figure is 17 million. Quotes from Metro Transit director of service development John Levin have also been expanded for clarification. The story has been edited to reflect this.