Another $1.5 Billion Cut?!? Transit Once Again Takes It On the Chin

Governor Schwarzenegger released his 2010-2011 State Budget on Friday, which includes a disastrous $1.5 billion cut to California’s transit agencies. 

Everyone knows the story: California’s state government is in the midst of a fiscal nightmare, and Californians themselves  are facing high unemployment, housing problems and the whole range of everyday troubles that come with living in a deep, deep recession.  Make no mistake: balancing the budget means some serious cuts.  The question is whether the cuts are done wisely.  We should not be undermining the state’s recovery, frustrating the efforts of Californians to pull themselves out of this mess, or forsaking our environmental goals and responsibilities to the planet.

With these cuts, the proposed Budget manages to do all three.  Further cuts to already struggling transit agencies mean 1) more layoffs, as transit agencies can no longer afford drivers and mechanics; 2) less mobility, at a time when access to jobs and social services is crucial; 3) higher transportation costs, as riders pay more for other ways to get around; and 4) more pollution, as transit riders switch to less efficient car and taxi travel, clogging up already congested motorways.   

So what’s the Administration’s plan?   It's complicated, but most briefly, the Budget proposes to eliminate the sales tax on gasoline and raise the excise tax on gasoline.  Since much of the sales tax on gas is set aside for transit, while the excise tax is not, switching and manipulating these two levies allows the Administration to take money set-aside for transit and use it to deal with the General Fund deficit. 

Now, if this were the first time transit was kicking in to help with the budget, I’d say we all have to do our share.  Unfortunately, despite widespread support for transit among Californians, transit has been hit up early and often, contributing more than $3 billion to budget solutions over the past few years.  I think they’ve done their part.  The proposal is doubly frustrating because it comes on the heels of a major victory for the California Transit Association earlier this year, when a court ruled that previous efforts to raid transit funds were against state law.

We are moving backwards if we think that making it harder and more expensive to get to work or school, throwing more people onto unemployment, and putting more pollution into the air are the ways to get California on its way to recovery.    Public transit is an investment that pays dividends: better jobs, more freedom of movement, and a cleaner, safer transportation system. 

We need to be putting more into transit, not cutting through the bone.  Fortunately, Assemblymember Michael Eng, Chair of the Assembly’s Transportation Committee, told Streetsblog San Francisco that it was "absolutely incredulous" to cut transit at a time when it's needed "to get working families to their jobs and stimulate the economy."

So, at least someone seems to get it in Sacramento.  The Governor needs to seriously reevaluate these cuts.

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