Wednesday, January 30, 2002
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Wednesday, January 30, 2002 |
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Dunn: Fayette not interested in GRTA bus plan By DAVE
HAMRICK
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority wants to run buses up and down two Fayette County thoroughfares, and is willing to pay for them. But County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn said he is willing to look that gift horse in the mouth, and it's not as much of a gift as it might appear. "They met with me," Dunn confirmed this week after metro area news reports surfaced about GRTA's desire to establish bus service in 13 Atlanta area counties. "I told them we weren't prepared to do that now," he added. The proposal is for express commuter bus service on Ga. highways 74 and 85, Dunn said, adding that GRTA has offered to pay for the buses and construction of park/ride lots. "I asked them about M&O [maintenance and operation] and they said that would come out of the bus fares," Dunn said. "I told them in the history of mankind, bus fares have never been able to pay the M&O bill." GRTA representatives admitted that local tax funds would have to make up the difference of about $1.2 million a year, Dunn said, assuming Fayette's ridership is about the same as in other counties where similar service has been established. "If the ridership did not justify its existence, we would be in a long-term contract," Dunn said. He said he suggested a pilot program so it could be ended if it turned out to be unsuccessful, but GRTA wants the long-term commitment, Dunn said. As part of the program, GRTA also is offering to funnel some state money into Fayette's road transportation needs, Dunn said, but added there's also more to that proposal than meets the eye. "We would have to come up with our 10 percent immediately," he said, something the county is not prepared to do, since the local share could be $1 million or more. GRTA was created last year by the state Legislature and charged with bringing the metropolitan Atlanta area into compliance with federal air quality standards. Much of its effort has been directed toward moving the region toward public transportation and away from reliance on automobiles.
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