SANTA CLARA VTA RIDERS UNION P. O. Box 390069 Mountain View, CA 94039-0069 http://www.vtaridersunion.org/ NEWS RELEASE TO: Editor, News Assignment Desk, Transportation Reporter * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE * Press Contacts (in alphabetical order): Eugene Bradley 24 hr. cell/pager (408)888-2208 email:eegenebradley@yahoo.com SOUTH BAY TRANSIT RIDERS GROUP RELEASES REVISED REPORT ON ATTAINING VTA FINANCIAL STABILITY Group's Report Details Solutions Needed To Resolve VTA Financial Woes SUNNYVALE, CA (January 28, 2003) – The Santa Clara VTA Riders Union (SCVTARU - http://www.vtaridersunion.org/) today releases a revised version of its report of solutions for financial stability for the financially-troubled Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). This 27-page report, titled "Transit Medicine," details proven, practical solutions the VTA needs to resolve its current budget crisis. The report will be available for public viewing on our web site, www.vtaridersunion.org, at 10am today. To assist in the creation of our report, SCVTARU obtained input from our members and supporters, as well as via informal interviews with VTA operators and fellow passengers. In addition, SCVTARU set up an email address on our web site, vta-waste@vtaridersunion.org, where VTA employees and the general public anonymously submitted information on waste, fraud, and/or mismanagement observed within the VTA's daily operations. The first portion of our report defines VTA's current transit financial problem. One obvious factor is the ongoing economic recession. Two other factors contributed to VTA's current fiscal woes - an overdependence on local sales tax revenue and a spending philosophy where day-to-day operations funding is placed below funding for capital projects. Symptoms of VTA's financial woes include fare increases by 15% and service reductions by 20% in the last two years - with another 3% service reduction that will be voted on by the VTA Board of Directors on February 6. Our report then details short-term and long-term solutions that the VTA needs to use to resolve its financial woes. One example of our short-term solutions includes requiring VTA to adopt and enforce a zero-tolerance policy against "courtesy" rides. SCVTARU members witnessed some VTA bus operators give friends and relatives free or illegally-discounted ride on buses – particularly on line 22. Such “courtesy” rides are unfair to those who had to pay the full $1.40 fare to ride a bus and ultimately rob VTA of much-needed revenue. Despite reports made to VTA regarding these courtesy rides, nothing has been done to fully resolve the issue. One example of our long-term solutions includes giving a 10% auto insurance discount to VTA transit riders who purchase an Eco-Pass subscription or purchase 11 monthly passes out of 12 in a calendar year. This is similar to what is done in Massachusetts now. This part of our plan would generate more transit ridership in the long term, thus increasing revenue. The goals of increased revenue and more ridership our plan can generate are the exact opposite of what VTA staff proposes in its plan, "Obtaining Sustainable Financial Stability." One example of how backward VTA's plan is can be found on page 14, where their baseline projections include fare hikes by 10% every other year. SCVTARU, as well as VTA Board Member Blanca Alvarado, protested against this proposal at a VTA Workshop back in February 2002; however VTA planners included the proposal anyway. Worse, on page 52, the same baseline assumption includes that their ridership will grow by 1% a year even with these huge fare hikes. SCVTARU does not know of any local transit agency in the US where ridership has increased despite fare hikes every other year. SCVTARU wonders why VTA management continues to propose solutions that punish transit riders with higher fares and more reduced service. SCVTARU believes that transit service and funding should never depend on economic conditions. We are more than open to discussion with VTA Board members and staff regarding implementation of the solutions mentioned in our report. SCVTARU founder Eugene Bradley will present the revised version of this report at the next meeting of VTA's ad-hoc Financial Stability Committee at 9am this Wednesday. The meeting location is at the County Sheriff's Auditorium at 55 W. Younger Street in San Jose. ### About the Santa Clara VTA Riders Union -------------------------------------- Founded in October 2000 by Eugene Bradley, the Santa Clara VTA Riders Union is a grassroots-based organization dedicated to ensuring that elected officials improve and implement cost- effective, frequent, and reliable mass transit in Santa Clara County. You can find more information on the Santa Clara VTA Riders Union at www.vtaridersunion.org. We are based in Sunnyvale, CA. Our organization has absolutely no affiliation with, nor is endorsed by, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in any way whatsoever.