Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Durango Transit fees may go up to cover budget crunch

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file<br><br>Durango Transit is facing a major budgetary shortfall in 2017, and the city will consider cutting service or increasing fees or fares.

The city’s transit system is facing a large deficit next year, and cuts to service or increased fees may be necessary.

The Durango City Council must consider tough decisions to cover a $185,000 shortfall, said Amber Blake, transportation and sustainability director.

She described the options that councilors will consider in the next few months before the budget is adopted in December.

The city could save $265,000 by cutting service to Mercy Regional Medical Center area because it has the lowest ridership and costs the most to run.

However, it is growing fast, in part, because a 100-unit apartment complex just opened in Three Springs.

If this route was covered only by fares, it would cost about $19 each way, which is too much to expect riders to pay, Blake said.

“If they had that money, they would probably take a cab,” she said.

Those who rely on routes across the system can’t pay the full cost of the service, she said.

“The people that are riding don’t have that money to pay the full cost or they would probably own a car,” she said.

Transit services are subsidized across the nation, she said.

If the city raised fares 50 cents or $15 per month, it could collect $26,500 more annually, she said.

Increasing parking passes, meters and tickets could also help balance the budget.

Increasing parking tickets to $20 from $12 or $15 and changing how tickets are managed could raise $163,593 annually.

Increasing monthly parking permits from $30 to $45 dollars per month could raise $60,000.

Increasing the parking meter fees by 25 cents per hour could raise $140,555.

Durango Transit will likely face a further deficit in 2018 when the Colorado Department of Transportation changes how federal mass transit money is distributed, so Blake urged the council to think seriously about setting the stage for more change.

“How we can be prepared for 2018, that would be my plea,” she said.

Early CDOT options suggested the city could lose a large portion of its $980,000 in federal grant funding.

However, the agency is re-evaluting those options and no final decision has been made.

“Supposedly, by March, we will have some more information,” she said.

Decisions about transit financing will be made against the backdrop of a tight budget year.

The city is only planning for a .017 percent increase in sales tax collections in 2017, City Manager Ron LeBlanc said.

He likened this to “landing a helicopter on the Empire State Building spire”

In 2016, the city planned for 4.3 percent increase in sales tax collections, and the city is likely to fall about 1 percent short of that.

The city has been planning for this shortfall since April, and it should be dealt with by the end of the year, he said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

May 18, 2018
Durango Transit leaves some neighborhoods unserved
Oct 6, 2016
Durango Transit gets national recognition


Reader Comments