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January 21, 2012 in City
STA cancels cut in service
Increased commuter routes, economic activity helped
Riders board and disembark from the No. 66 bus at the Jefferson Park and Ride in downtown Spokane on Friday. The routes to and from Cheney are busier these days, boosting the bottom line of the Spokane Transit Authority and staving off service cuts on other routes.
(Full-size photo)
Spokane Transit Authority officials have abandoned plans for a 7 percent cut in service this year after sales tax collections and passenger numbers increased last year.
They had warned that the planned cuts would have been trouble for riders because it would have caused serious reductions in service.
Cuts of 3 percent in 2010 and 7 percent last year were achieved by ending routes with low ridership and consolidating other routes.
At the same time, highly traveled routes saw increases in frequency, with buses running every 15 minutes in many cases.
Because of the improved budget picture, STA officials have said they will indefinitely postpone that third round of potential cuts with the hope that an improving economy will erase any need for them.
Planners had feared that ridership would fall by 5 or 6 percent once previous years’ cuts and service changes were implemented, so the 1 percent increase in riders came as a pleasant surprise, but also a validation of a rider-oriented approach to transit planning.
In that time, riders paid nearly a quarter of the cost of their trips.
“It is a much better result than was anticipated,” said Susan Meyer, STA chief executive officer.
Last year, 10.8 million passenger trips were logged by STA compared with 10.7 million in 2010.
Those are both down from STA’s record rider count of 11.1 million trips in 2009. The economic slowdown is viewed as the likely cause of the drop in 2010.
The recession and slow economy also robbed STA of its ability to continue its level of service, so planners within the agency took a new look at routes and schedules to find savings while enhancing service on commuter routes such as the buses that run to Eastern Washington University.
EWU and Cheney routes have seen a 20 percent increase in riders. The main bus to EWU now provides service every 15 minutes. As a result, buses have been filled to capacity during peak ride times, and STA has been forced to add extra buses to handle the burgeoning loads.
The reorganized service on the South Side has also been met with rider demand, and the commuter buses from Liberty Lake remain strong performers.
The new schedule went into effect in September as part of the wider package of cuts.
Another bright spot at STA is a modest improvement in economic activity in the Spokane area.
The agency in 2011 had budgeted a decline in sales tax collections of 2 percent. At the end of the year, sales tax revenue had increased by 3 percent, which amounted to a 5 percent improvement over budget, Meyer said.
A conservative view by planners continues. The budget anticipates no increase in sales tax collections in 2012.
Sales tax is the major source of revenue for the agency.
Returning farmland to a state of nature 
polistra on January 21 at 3:15 a.m.
See what happens when you listen to your ACTUAL CUSTOMERS? You get more actual customers.
Glad to see STA has finally figured this out. Through the 2000’s they were trying to GET RID of their dull old actual customers. They were focused on a fancy and wildly expensive Ultra-Super-High-Speed Train de Grande Vitesse, trying to attract people who will never never never never never ride public transport no matter how fancy it gets.
injunjoe107 on January 21 at 4:46 a.m.
I’m continually amazed at the STA’s plans about service expansion/contraction.
“Not as many customers are being attracted to my store so I am going to cut back on lighting.” And then be surprised when even more people fail to see them.
With the city people silly enough to have given them a permanent tax I’m amazed they have the balls to even suggest service cuts.
Its obvious they must not have much of feeling about what will help/hurt ridership. And you thought they had learned???
Ha!
chefxh on January 21 at 8:37 a.m.
Nice that the university (which pays for all EWU students to ride free with their Eagle Card) is keeping STA afloat, while the many EWU employees who live on the West Plains continue to drive to Cheney instead of taking one bus to the Plaza and another to the university.
DickAdams on January 21 at 10:31 a.m.
Looks as though the cash cow is returning to the STA and the brains who call the shots there are celebrating. Does that mean the spend thrifts will waste more money towards a transit system speeding to Liberty Lake?
de3 on January 21 at 10:57 a.m.
What were they doing before “a rider-oriented approach to transit planning”?
Selecting routes based on politics and business owner pressure?
maynard on January 21 at 2:23 p.m.
RE: Comment by Chefxh…STA claims that at one time they offered direct service from Airway Heights to EWU…but it was discontinued due to low ridership.
Now that STA has seen an increase in commuter service, I would suggest they re-evaluate the idea of bringing back that service - this time as a commuter route only available during the school year. I bet that would bring in the bucks!!!
Jim9876 on January 21 at 4:08 p.m.
This is good news. Like others, I also wonder what STA did before they adopted a “rider-oriented approach” to transit planning. They certainly did not have riders in mind with the increased number of advertising-wrapped buses. With the view from inside obscured by a plastic film, how is the rider supposed to see where the bus is and know when to pull the cord? Full wrap advertising over the windows insults us by implying that we do not deserve a clear window from which to view the passing scene.
jamesbackyard on January 21 at 5:14 p.m.
@injunjoe Did you read the article? It was about how ridership went up, obviously they know what they are doing.
@chefxh Dude, you haven’t a clue. I pay a fee from my own pocket to get that pass.
@Dickie You moron. No added service, they just dont have to cut as much as they thought.
@maynard Check the schedules, there is direct service from Airway Heights to Downtown. That hasn’t changed in years.
With 10.8 million people riding the bus here last year its too bad I’m the only one who can set you fools straight. Maybe I’m just the only one who is willing to take the time to try to educate you gomers.
AnalyzeThat on January 21 at 6:17 p.m.
Glad to read STA is not going to cut service again (for now) - they’ve cut it too much on the Northside routes as it is!
maynard on January 21 at 8:38 p.m.
@jamesbackyard - hey “fool” if you read my comment, I was referring to direct service from Airway Heights / West Plains to EWU without having to go downtown first. I’m already aware of the service from Downtown to EWU.