![The planned Orange Line, a $150 million bus-rapid transit project along I-35W, will likely get a much nicer response from state lawmakers than either light-rail project currently in the works. The line, linking Burnsville with downtown Minneapolis, is slated to begin service in 2017 and will be using the station at 46th St. and I-35W. ]Richard Tsong-Taatarii/rtsong-taatarii@startribune.com ORG XMIT: MIN1509210947420002](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/4VNH5VUIUDQERLCO55KIX3PNQY.jpg?&w=1080)
Last week Minnesotans learned that Metro Transit is once again projecting a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall. Transit officials rounded up the usual suspects to help balance the books: They proposed a modest fare increase for bus, light rail and Northstar Commuter rail riders.
These fare increases are proposed by transit officials who make difficult decisions every day to preserve our existing system while continuing to make transit an affordable option to millions of commuters in our region. Buses continue to be a very important public service in our seven-county metro area — many citizens depend upon an affordable, reliable and flexible transit system.
The constraints on the existing operating budget don't allow any expansion of bus service into high-demand areas throughout developing areas of the region. Instead, we have a system that annually digs itself into a huge fiscal hole and then scrambles to gather together enough resources (meaning tax dollars) to preserve existing transit. It's not sustainable; we need to face facts: our system is seriously off track.
As the former chair of the Metropolitan Council's Transportation Committee, I believe it's time for dramatic changes to our transit system to preserve a well-run and fairly efficient bus network that many commuters rely upon each day.
One of the first rules of thumb of running any enterprise is that when you're in a hole, stop digging. Last week, Gov. Mark Dayton included a line item in his supplemental budget request to the Legislature that would provide $4 million for a six-month demonstration project and engineering study to expand Northstar Commuter Rail service to St. Cloud. Northstar, operating since November of 2009 on an abbreviated line from Minneapolis to Big Lake, has forced taxpayers to subsidize a rail line that clearly has little demand. It's one of the primary reasons our transit system is off the rails.
We learned earlier this year from transit officials that during 2016, only 2,369 daily riders boarded the Northstar trains — fewer than half the number that transit officials predicted would ride the system each day by 2030. This dramatic lack of riders forces taxpayers to subsidize nearly 84 percent of the cost of every person who boards the train — to the tune of $18.41 per person per day.
It's time to stop making excuses for this costly failure. Instead of pouring good money after bad by expanding Northstar, Metro Transit should immediately discontinue weekend service on that line. Then transit officials, in conjunction and with guidance from the Legislature and the administration, need to begin the process of negotiating with federal transportation officials in Washington to determine how we can curtail service on this rail line completely. This line, in particular, continues to hemorrhage red ink that limits transit growth. It's time to shut it down.
Before the Legislature approves any additional stopgap funding for transit, Metro Transit officials should agree to present to legislators, before the start of the next legislative session, various long-range transportation funding options, not just raising taxes or bus fares. A good example of the options we should consider would be switching to mileage-based fares for buses. Distance-based fares are nothing new to other large transit systems and they should be considered here to make our system more progressive and taxpayer-friendly.
