Post by spokker on Dec 20, 2008 14:58:21 GMT -8
Holy hell, here I was complaining about OCTA cutting 1% of bus service in Orange County. In Missouri-Illinois, try 44% for bus services and 32% for light rail.
(St. Louis) Metro to lay off 600, cut service
St. Louis Metro plans to lay off 600 workers, or 25 percent of its work force, from January through March, Robert Baer, Metro's president and chief executive said Friday.
St. Louis Business Journal - by Kelsey Volkmann
One in four of Metro's 2,365 total workers will be let go. Affected workers will include bus and train operators, mechanics and administrative employees, said Dianne Williams, a Metro spokeswoman. "The cuts are across-the-board and will affect all staffs," she said.
Metro's board on Friday approved sweeping service cuts, which eliminate routes in west and south St. Louis County and outside the Interstate 270 corridor, affecting thousands of commuters and others who rely on public transportation.
The layoffs and service cuts are part of Metro's plan to plug a $50 million budget deficit in fiscal 2010.
"On behalf of all Metro employees, I apologize for what we are about to do," said Baer, before Metro's board unanimously approved the service reductions.
The cuts, which will take effect March 30, reduce bus service by 44 percent, MetroLink service by 32 percent and Call-A-Ride by 15 percent. The reductions will save the agency $36.7 million a year.
Ridership will decline by an estimated 9.5 million boardings a year as a result of the cuts and subsequent ticket revenue drop, leaving the agency without a sustainable plan after 2010, said Ray Friem, senior vice president of transit operations at Metro.
To make additional service cuts in the future would be "criminal," said Baer, who urged state, county and city leaders to come up with a regional mass transportation plan to avoid further reductions in the future and to create a lasting funding source for Metro.
Missouri, for example, contributes $1.4 million a year to Metro, while Illinois gives $20 million, he said.
Mark Kern, chairman of the St. Clair County Board, said that county's transit board offered up another $1.9 million a year to preserve MetroLink routes for Illinois riders who use Metro to travel to Missouri. More than 87 percent of Illinois riders commute to Missouri, he said.
"We appreciate the leadership Mr. Kern exhibited today, and it would be great if more leaders stepped up," Baer said.
Dozens of residents who rely on Metro to get to work and to the doctor railed against the service cuts Friday.
"There is no question about it. Blind and visually impaired people will be severely impacted by the cuts in service," said Beverly Armstrong, executive director of the Missouri Council of the Blind. "We have to rely on public transportation. There is a 70 percent unemployment rate among the blind. We want to work but it will get worse with these service cuts."
Hundreds of employees in Chesterfield won't be able to get to work once routes are eliminated, said Libbey Malberg, assistant city administrator for community services and economic development for the city of Chesterfield.
Service will be cut to dozens of local nursing homes and hospitals, including St. Luke's Hospital, Barnes-Jewish West County, SSM St. Clare Hospital, St. Anthony's Medical Center, as well as Chesterfield Mall and Jamestown Mall.
As another means of raising revenue, Metro's board approved a 50-cent fare hike last month.
Metro officials said they had to raise fares and cut service because St. Louis County voters rejected a referendum Nov. 4 to raise the transit sales tax by one-half cent, which would have generated $80 million a year for the agency.
Service cuts to affect these businesses:
St. Luke's Hospital
Barnes-Jewish West County
SSM St. Clare Hospital
St. Anthony's Medical Center
Chesterfield Mall
Jamestown Mall
Chesterfield Valley
18 Schnuck's Markets
8 Dierberg's stores
4 Shop 'n Saves
20 Walgreen's stores
More than 630 restaurants
Friendship Village of West County
Garden View Care of Chesterfield
Clayton Healthcare Center
Delmar Gardens of Chesterfield
Cedars at the JCA
St. Luke's Surrey Place
Brooking Park
West County Care Center
Tesson Heights Senior Living Community
Sunset Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center
Elder Care of the Valley
Delmar Gardens in Florrissant
Ranch Manor Healthcare and Rehab
kvolkmann@bizjournals.com
I'm not familiar with this agency and I only know about it because it pops up when I do news searches for our Metrolink. So I don't really know why these cuts are happening except for what the article says, but damn.
No matter whose fault it is, it really hurts the transit dependent the most.
Jesus.
(St. Louis) Metro to lay off 600, cut service
St. Louis Metro plans to lay off 600 workers, or 25 percent of its work force, from January through March, Robert Baer, Metro's president and chief executive said Friday.
St. Louis Business Journal - by Kelsey Volkmann
One in four of Metro's 2,365 total workers will be let go. Affected workers will include bus and train operators, mechanics and administrative employees, said Dianne Williams, a Metro spokeswoman. "The cuts are across-the-board and will affect all staffs," she said.
Metro's board on Friday approved sweeping service cuts, which eliminate routes in west and south St. Louis County and outside the Interstate 270 corridor, affecting thousands of commuters and others who rely on public transportation.
The layoffs and service cuts are part of Metro's plan to plug a $50 million budget deficit in fiscal 2010.
"On behalf of all Metro employees, I apologize for what we are about to do," said Baer, before Metro's board unanimously approved the service reductions.
The cuts, which will take effect March 30, reduce bus service by 44 percent, MetroLink service by 32 percent and Call-A-Ride by 15 percent. The reductions will save the agency $36.7 million a year.
Ridership will decline by an estimated 9.5 million boardings a year as a result of the cuts and subsequent ticket revenue drop, leaving the agency without a sustainable plan after 2010, said Ray Friem, senior vice president of transit operations at Metro.
To make additional service cuts in the future would be "criminal," said Baer, who urged state, county and city leaders to come up with a regional mass transportation plan to avoid further reductions in the future and to create a lasting funding source for Metro.
Missouri, for example, contributes $1.4 million a year to Metro, while Illinois gives $20 million, he said.
Mark Kern, chairman of the St. Clair County Board, said that county's transit board offered up another $1.9 million a year to preserve MetroLink routes for Illinois riders who use Metro to travel to Missouri. More than 87 percent of Illinois riders commute to Missouri, he said.
"We appreciate the leadership Mr. Kern exhibited today, and it would be great if more leaders stepped up," Baer said.
Dozens of residents who rely on Metro to get to work and to the doctor railed against the service cuts Friday.
"There is no question about it. Blind and visually impaired people will be severely impacted by the cuts in service," said Beverly Armstrong, executive director of the Missouri Council of the Blind. "We have to rely on public transportation. There is a 70 percent unemployment rate among the blind. We want to work but it will get worse with these service cuts."
Hundreds of employees in Chesterfield won't be able to get to work once routes are eliminated, said Libbey Malberg, assistant city administrator for community services and economic development for the city of Chesterfield.
Service will be cut to dozens of local nursing homes and hospitals, including St. Luke's Hospital, Barnes-Jewish West County, SSM St. Clare Hospital, St. Anthony's Medical Center, as well as Chesterfield Mall and Jamestown Mall.
As another means of raising revenue, Metro's board approved a 50-cent fare hike last month.
Metro officials said they had to raise fares and cut service because St. Louis County voters rejected a referendum Nov. 4 to raise the transit sales tax by one-half cent, which would have generated $80 million a year for the agency.
Service cuts to affect these businesses:
St. Luke's Hospital
Barnes-Jewish West County
SSM St. Clare Hospital
St. Anthony's Medical Center
Chesterfield Mall
Jamestown Mall
Chesterfield Valley
18 Schnuck's Markets
8 Dierberg's stores
4 Shop 'n Saves
20 Walgreen's stores
More than 630 restaurants
Friendship Village of West County
Garden View Care of Chesterfield
Clayton Healthcare Center
Delmar Gardens of Chesterfield
Cedars at the JCA
St. Luke's Surrey Place
Brooking Park
West County Care Center
Tesson Heights Senior Living Community
Sunset Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center
Elder Care of the Valley
Delmar Gardens in Florrissant
Ranch Manor Healthcare and Rehab
kvolkmann@bizjournals.com
Metro plans to lay off 600 workers, or 25 percent of its work force, from January through March, Robert Baer, Metro's president and chief executive said Friday.
One in four of Metro's 2,365 total workers will be let go. Affected workers will include bus and train operators, mechanics and administrative employees, said Dianne Williams, a Metro spokeswoman. "The cuts are across-the-board and will affect all staffs," she said.
...
The cuts, which will take effect March 30, reduce bus service by 44 percent, MetroLink service by 32 percent and Call-A-Ride by 15 percent. The reductions will save the agency $36.7 million a year.
One in four of Metro's 2,365 total workers will be let go. Affected workers will include bus and train operators, mechanics and administrative employees, said Dianne Williams, a Metro spokeswoman. "The cuts are across-the-board and will affect all staffs," she said.
...
The cuts, which will take effect March 30, reduce bus service by 44 percent, MetroLink service by 32 percent and Call-A-Ride by 15 percent. The reductions will save the agency $36.7 million a year.
I'm not familiar with this agency and I only know about it because it pops up when I do news searches for our Metrolink. So I don't really know why these cuts are happening except for what the article says, but damn.
No matter whose fault it is, it really hurts the transit dependent the most.
"There is no question about it. Blind and visually impaired people will be severely impacted by the cuts in service," said Beverly Armstrong, executive director of the Missouri Council of the Blind. "We have to rely on public transportation. There is a 70 percent unemployment rate among the blind. We want to work but it will get worse with these service cuts."
Hundreds of employees in Chesterfield won't be able to get to work once routes are eliminated, said Libbey Malberg, assistant city administrator for community services and economic development for the city of Chesterfield.
Service will be cut to dozens of local nursing homes and hospitals, including St. Luke's Hospital, Barnes-Jewish West County, SSM St. Clare Hospital, St. Anthony's Medical Center, as well as Chesterfield Mall and Jamestown Mall.
As another means of raising revenue, Metro's board approved a 50-cent fare hike last month.
Metro officials said they had to raise fares and cut service because St. Louis County voters rejected a referendum Nov. 4 to raise the transit sales tax by one-half cent, which would have generated $80 million a year for the agency.
Hundreds of employees in Chesterfield won't be able to get to work once routes are eliminated, said Libbey Malberg, assistant city administrator for community services and economic development for the city of Chesterfield.
Service will be cut to dozens of local nursing homes and hospitals, including St. Luke's Hospital, Barnes-Jewish West County, SSM St. Clare Hospital, St. Anthony's Medical Center, as well as Chesterfield Mall and Jamestown Mall.
As another means of raising revenue, Metro's board approved a 50-cent fare hike last month.
Metro officials said they had to raise fares and cut service because St. Louis County voters rejected a referendum Nov. 4 to raise the transit sales tax by one-half cent, which would have generated $80 million a year for the agency.
Jesus.