THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 10, 1995 TAG: 9509080221
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
City Manager Myles E. Standish, reviewing a rather dour report Wednesday on Suffolk's public transportation, probably said it best.
``There's no more blood left in this turnip,'' he said.
The report on Tidewater Regional Transportation service in Suffolk was requested by the city council after Vice Mayor Curtis R. Milteer Sr. asked that four part-time bus drivers be bumped up to full-time positions. The council was hoping to find out if the system could accommodate the move as well as any transportation improvements. The answer, however, was bleak.
But instead of killing the matter, Milteer asked that the matter be tabled for 90 days to see what effect TRT's 40 cent fare increase will have on ridership in Suffolk.
In the staff report's summary, public transportation in Suffolk was said to be reduced to ``the bare essentials.'' The report said that any move to make the part-time employees full-time would be cost prohibitive considering the losses the city is already facing.
``The use of small vans, connected routes, reduced schedules and part-time labor have been used to reduce costs,'' the report said. ``No additional cost savings, while maintaining the current minimal service, are evident.''
The report's main recommendation was to try and increase ridership.
The current fiscal year's budget anticipated a deficit of $120,000 for the public transportation program, which the city of Suffolk took over from Tidewater Regional Transit in 1981. The city had hoped to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness by taking the helm.
Six van routes are currently running in Suffolk, operating on weekdays only from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cutbacks have hurt the local public transportation system. After Saturday service was discontinued, ridership dropped. Since 1990, ridership has dropped 18 percent and revenues have dropped 21 percent, the report said.
There are no buses connecting Suffolk with any of the other local cities.
A two-day survey of riders found 383 passengers using the van service on all six routes. According to Councilwoman Marian ``Bea'' Rogers, the city's annual allotment to TRT equates to about $313 per rider per ride. by CNB