This commentary is by Ron Jacobs of Winooski. He is a lifelong public transit rider and currently holds a senior discount pass from Green Mountain Transit.
Frankly, I am appalled at Green Mountain Transit management’s proposed cuts to bus service. This decision highlights numerous problems with current policies regarding how Vermonters get to work, school, shopping and elsewhere in their daily lives.
First and foremost, the idea that cuts are even considered as a reasonable solution to Green Mountain Transit’s budget issues makes me wonder if those we elect to Montpelier and Washington actually understand what it’s like for hundreds of working Vermonters in their daily effort getting to and from work.
Thanks to the money provided by the emergency COVID funding, public transit in Vermont was finally able to serve communities previously underserved. In addition, in those areas that already had bus service, the service was expanded so as to actually meet many of the scheduling requirements of riders like never before. As a lifelong user of public transit, I can’t begin to describe how much that meant.
In fiscal year 2023, according to the Vermont Department of Transportation, a little more than $4 million was set aside for public transit from state funds. Meanwhile, over $30 million was dedicated to highway and road maintenance. Federal funding for all of Vermont’s local public transit system was just over $40 million. Federal funding for highway and road maintenance was over $250 million.
Obviously, maintaining the roads in Vermont is very important, especially given our state’s climate and often harsh weather. This has been even truer the past couple of years because of the flooding. Regarding that flooding, the federal government has provided $50 million in emergency funding.
If we are to maintain a reasonably healthy environment in Vermont, public transit has to be part of the equation. We cannot continue to expand roadways, cutting into our forests and farmland. Our cities cannot continue to absorb a greater number of vehicles that seem to get bigger every time new models come out.
Furthermore, as the price of passenger vehicles continues to climb, their affordability for many working people who are also paying for housing, food and healthcare for themselves and their families slips further from their reach. In other words, they cannot afford to buy cars or trucks that cost more than their yearly salary. Affordable public transportation is an incredibly reasonable solution to these issues. It is time to expand it, not cut it.
In Vermont, the public transit infrastructure already exists and has been expanded in recent years. This is especially true in regards to Green Mountain Transit, an agency which is the result of years of planning and conversation between the Chittenden County Transportation Authority and the Green Mountain Transit Authority.
The planning included the unions representing the drivers, maintenance crews and others who worked for the two agencies. It also included public input from across the service area. The result is a much better public transit system that works like such a system should. After providing free rides during the pandemic, fares were increased substantially over pre-pandemic rates. The riders and agency’s workers have done their part.
The time has come for the Vermont Legislature and our elected representatives in Washington to step up and find the funding. Public transit is the future. It’s time those in government use our tax money to fund it appropriately.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Ron Jacobs: I am appalled at proposed Green Mountain Transit cuts.