Waterfrontline at North Coast Harbor Station.jpg

A state hearing on the public transit demand and financing levels drew a capacity crowd to RTA's headquarters Tuesday afternoon. It was the first of five hearings being held around the state by the Ohio Department of Transportation. RTA's Waterfront Line is shown here.

(Jerry Masek, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- State money to support public transit has plunged almost 85 percent since 2000, even as mounting demand suggests Ohio should double its outlay on bus, rail and other transit services by 2025.

That disconnect is spelled out by an unlikely source: The Ohio Department of Transportation, which handles the distribution of state-level transit funds and has presided over the drastic spending decline in recent years.

ODOT is holding five meetings across the state to present transit data assembled by its consultants in the past year and recommendations for changes. The kickoff meeting was Tuesday afternoon at the downtown offices of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland.

About 130 people turned out for yesterday's meeting held by the Ohio Department of Transportation to talk about findings on public transit use in Ohio and funding levels for buses, rapid trains and paratransit. The state delivered its own report card: ODOT has cut its contribution toward Ohio's public transit outlay almost 85 percent since 2000.

The question behind it all is: "What does Ohio need to do in terms of transit," consultant Bethany Whitaker told about 130 transit customers and advocates, politicians and community planners who crowded into RTA's board room.

Whitaker got quickly to the numbers and what she called the "big reveal":

-- In 2012, statewide spending to operate public transit was $658.5 million, with much of the money coming from federal sources.

-- By 2025, Ohio should be spending about $1.1 billion annually on transit services. That leaves an operating gap of $637.6 million. Put another way, Ohio needs roughly twice as much transit service as it has.

"We said Cleveland should be where Denver is" a year from now, Whitaker said, pointing to a graphic that ranked cities by transit operations. "By 2025, we want to be at the level of service in Portland."

-- There's estimated revenue of $828.5 million from all sources statewide over the next 10 years for capital expenditures – money used to preserve existing fleets, fueling stations and rail lines, and buy new ones.

-- Capital investment over the 10 years should be more on the order of $3.6 billion to meet transit demand. The funding gap: $2.8 billion over the decade.

Behind the dollars are population trends, said Whitaker, a principal with Nelson Nygaard, a consulting firm with an international reach that says it promotes "vibrant, sustainable and accessible communities."

Ohio is growing very slowly, and its population is getting poorer, older and living in smaller households, Whitaker said. By 2050, as much as a quarter or half of the residents in some counties will be over 65.

Participants at a public hearing held by the Ohio Department of Transportation used colored dots to mark which elements of public transit in rural and urban areas they considered most important. The input will be folded into an ODOT report, expected to be finalized late this year, on transit needs in the state. The report will go to policymakers who decide funding levels for bus, rapid train and other transit services.

Aging Baby Boomers are driving less, as are Millennials in their teens, 20s and early 30s. Also in the mix: Immigrants, who represent Ohio's growing edge and often have higher expectations that public transit will be available for daily activities.

Meanwhile, transit is becoming a bigger factor in sparking economic development, attracting and retaining young workers, and getting people to their jobs.

"All these demographics tell us transportation's important now. It's going to be more important in the future," Whitaker said.

Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio, said the cluster of Baby Boomers and young adults with heightened interest in getting about by bus and rail could finally convince lawmakers to step up funding.

"We think there's some things going on now that change the policy landscape," he said.

Amy Hanauer, executive director of Policy Matters Ohio, said ODOT should spend at least 9 percent of its budget on public transit because of a simple factor: Nine percent of Ohio households don't have a car.

Whitaker and ODOT's Chuck Dyer, project manager for statewide planning and research, fielded questions from the audience, some of which made pointed reference to ODOT's slice of the pie for transit.

The decline in ODOT funding for public transit -- from $44 million in 2000 to $7.3 million in 2013 -- has been gradual with several "significant exceptions," researchers found. One was recent, a 33 percent drop-off between 2011 and 2012, the first year of Gov. John Kasich's administration, when it fell from $10.9 million to $7.3 million.

Dyer said the point of the hearings and underlying research is to arm policymakers with information to make funding decisions.

"What they did was educational," said Ron Jackson, chairman of the citizens' subcommittee at RTA focused on disability access. "But I want to know how they're actually going to secure more funding."

Grace Gallucci, head of Greater Cleveland's biggest transportation planning agency, said one strategy would be for the state to "flex" more of its highway dollars to public transit. Flexible funds are drawn from specific sources, such as congestion mitigation dollars, and can be used for either transit or highway projects.

"That's a decision that can be made by ODOT," said Gallucci, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency. In an email Wednesday, Gallucci said ODOT apportions just $20 million of available flex funds to transit.

Gallucci's comments and those of others challenging the state to pony up more transit money were met with applause.

ODOT's research found the transit financing picture to be shaky – with one report even describing it as potentially "bleak," at least as to the uncertainty surrounding federal dollars. But researchers also identified "opportunities" to help strengthen Ohio transit.

-- Develop a multi-year state program, that also taps local and federal funds, to replace an estimated 1,300 transit vehicles that are beyond their useful life, a backlog with a price tag of $353 million.

-- Establish a pool of dollars dedicated to capturing federal grants that now are forfeited when local governments can't come up with matching funds.

-- Explore new ways to build and manage fleets, including leasing and financing vehicles.