Transit authority trims late-night bus service over funding concerns

More people now have access to Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority’s new Rapid Transit on-demand service, but regular bus riders will lose late night service even as overall ridership increases. 

As Phase II of the app-driven ride service pilot expands to south Bibb on March 2 and provides a last ride at 11:45 p.m., traditional fixed routes will end at 9 p.m. instead of 11 p.m. as of March 16.

During February’s board meeting, MBCTA CEO Craig Ross said Georgia Department of Transportation officials warned them at a December conference to cut the budget because of pending state funding cuts.

The board agreed to cut two hours of service to save about $500,000 per year. Fixed route riders increased overall by nearly 15% over last year, but not many people took advantage of the later hours, which have been in operation since July. 

GDOT District Communications Officer Gina Snider told The Macon Newsroom that remaining balances from older grants and unused funds from other cities had allowed them to allocate more money to the transit authority in recent years. 

“As more urbanized transit systems have begun utilizing their allocated funding, maintaining support at the current level may not be sustainable long term. GDOT has communicated this outlook in advance to provide transparency and allow partners time to plan for the possibility of future funding adjustments,” Snider stated in an email.

Ross and his leadership team have been crunching numbers and gathering data to make some hard decisions about cuts. The route serving north Napier Avenue and Zebulon Road also is in jeopardy due to low ridership, but this will require public notification and a hearing before cancellation. 

Ross said he wanted to be proactive in identifying cuts that make the most sense.

Extending bus service back to 11 p.m. was one of Ross’ 42 goals when he joined the authority in 2017. The authority accomplished that when they launched Rapid Transit in July.

“We were hoping with all that industry, that we would be able to gain some customers on those extra two hours from 9 to 11. It hadn’t happened,” Ross explained. 

Payroll, alone, for those two extra hours runs $75,000 a month.

“Because of the length of our day, we have two shifts, certainly not enough for three. But these extra hours are fully overtime. It’s not enough hours to bring on a new driver, and so every hour is overtime,” said MBCTA COO Tony Woodard.

“We can’t afford that type of a hit, and we’re not going to take it. We tried it, it just didn’t work,” Ross said. “It’s not even breaking even.”

Board members agreed this was the best option. 

“We are in a position where we don’t want to have to reduce our driving force, because it’s already difficult to maintain and to get drivers,” Chair Louis Tompkins said. 

“It’s better that we can cut time instead of routes first,” board member Weston Stroud said. “I think it needs to be noted we had our hearts in a good place. We tried to provide it.”

Board member Dave Dickey concurred, “It was a benevolent attempt to service the public with more hours, but it doesn’t carry its own weight.”

Vice Chair Lynn Farmer said the board has a responsibility to be efficient with taxpayer dollars. 

“I had to call it a ‘no-brainer,’ but it is. I mean, if you’re offering a service that’s costing that much and so few people are using it, heaven forbid that we were in a position of having to cut services that people really rely on,” Farmer said. “It’s hard to justify not putting the brakes on it.”

Board member Charles Murphy said most times he sees buses running at night, the driver is the only person on board. 

During public comments, paratransit rider Wade Horton criticized the board for rolling back hours without public input, but Ross explained that because the extended hours were operating less than a year, it’s the authority’s prerogative to make those scheduling changes. 

An informal study of current service between November and February showed only a handful of riders were boarding buses after 9 p.m.

The authority has funded a $150,000 ridership study that will help them make better data-driven decisions in the future.

Bylaws change, interstate travel

Transit authority board members also approved changing the bylaws to allow a board member whose term is up to continue serving until Macon-Bibb County names a replacement. 

County attorneys alerted Ross there was no existing provision to do that when he inquired about Rachel Umana, whose five-year term expired in July, but she has not yet been replaced. 

“I’ve been trying to get the mayor to reappoint her, and he’s made a decision he’s not going to. So, we would have liked for her to stay on until a replacement’s been appointed,” Ross said.

This change will not affect Umana, Ross said, but will be in place when other terms expire. 

Ross also clarified that MBCTA buses will not be traveling on the interstates during ongoing construction. 

“Until the last yard concrete is poured, until the last orange barrel is picked up off of the interstate, until the last sign that says construction zone ahead, there will not be any paratransit, fixed route or rapid transit buses on the interstate,” he said. “We’ve had accidents on it, and it ain’t gonna happen.”

GDOT estimates wrapping up interstate construction around the Interstate 75/16 interchange in 2030.