Why Ohio ignored its own $1M bus, rail study

Ohio lawmakers so far are refusing to increase one of the smallest state-level public transportation budgets in the U.S. – ignoring the state's own report that calls for more spending on bus and passenger rail systems, The Enquirer has learned.

Even Republican Gov. John Kasich – who's kept a tight rein on funding for public transportation and slashed money for Cincinnati's streetcar – recognizes something needs to be done to better connect people to jobs and help attract young professionals looking for ways to reduce or ditch dependence on cars.

The House, however, has rejected Kasich's request for a modest $1 million increase in public transportation spending over the next two years. The administration's public transit study commissioned last year recommended a $2.5 million increase, but that wasn't even considered. The report itself cost $1 million.

The Senate is mulling the budget.

"We're not even talking about a ton of money here," said Judith Will Fleming, head of the Ohio Public Transit Association, a statewide lobbying group. "It's very disheartening. To be quite honest, it's a disgrace."

Simply put, public transportation isn't a priority at the statehouse, lawmakers and transit advocates say. Operating money for bus and passenger rail is not even in the transportation budget. And one lawmaker turns the argument back on public transportation advocates, citing what he calls the lack of a strong and unified lobbying effort.

"There are causes that build a story and lay the groundwork to try to get money – higher education, school lunch programs, scholarship assistance," said Rep. Tom Brinkman, the Mount Lookout Republican. "Public transportation is nowhere to be found."

'Could better myself' with 'better' bus service

The fallout from lawmakers' decision not to increase spending may be felt in Butler County this summer. Federal grant money that pays for door-to-door shuttle service is expected to run out in July, said Carla Lakatos, executive director of the Butler County Regional Transit Authority.

The agency, which has a $4.5 million annual operating budget, has not identified a new funding source and may have to cut the service. The shuttles have been helpful for low-income residents, because Butler County's lack of population density and funding constraints limit the transit authority from being able to offer many regularly scheduled bus routes.

Hamilton resident Deborah Cook, 60, uses the shuttle service regularly. She's now worried about how she will get to the grocery store and doctor's office. Cook lives alone and does not have a driver's license.

"I have to have it," she said of the shuttle.

Cook is working toward obtaining her GED and recently completed resume-writing and job-interview training courses through Hamilton-based SELF, a nonprofit that provides services for 7,000 low-income Butler County families. Cook makes $9 an hour as a housekeeper.

Cook can walk to the apartment building she is in charge of cleaning. But she is concerned that her job options will be limited after she receives her GED. Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky transit systems collectively were ranked among the worst in the U.S. for connecting people to jobs, according to a University of Minnesota study last year.

"I could better myself and get better jobs if we had better bus service," Cook said. "Most of the jobs are in West Chester, Cincinnati and Fairfield, and I can't get there right now."

State Sen. Bill Coley, a Butler County Republican, did not return a message seeking comment. Coley is Vice Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which plays a major role in deciding the budget. He's also the only Greater Cincinnati lawmaker on the committee.

A buried line item in another budget

Recognizing a growing number of recent college graduates and young professionals across the U.S. are looking for jobs in cities with fast and reliable public transportation options, the traditionally highway-centric Ohio Department of Transportation commissioned the Transit Needs Study last year.

The 129-page report, released in January, revealed the state needs to increase its annual investment in transit to $185 million by 2025 just to meet the projected operations and capital funding gaps. That's a far cry from the $27 million the state poured into transit last year, according to the study. Some 900 of the 2,700 urban transit system buses – one-third – need to be replaced now.

"Decreases in state funding have limited the ability of local areas to support transit operations," the study said. "One indicator of the funding challenge is Ohio has not had any new transit agencies form since 2004."

Spending money on public transportation has rarely been a priority for Ohio lawmakers. Budgets are set up in such a way that public transportation operating money is a line item buried in the general revenue fund – not even in the transportation budget. The Legislature has cut $36.3 million in public transportation money from the general fund since 2000.

The $7.3 million currently in the fund accounts for just 1 percent of all the money invested in transit across Ohio each year, the study found. In 2012, ODOT decided to use $20 million in federal dollars for public transportation. The money – mostly used for capital repairs and improvements – has grown to $31 million in the new transportation budget.

But the federal money set aside for public transportation still is down from $50 million in 2008, when Ted Strickland was governor. The result of all the cuts: Ohio ranks 37th nationally in per capita spending on public transportation – lagging behind smaller, rural states such as West Virginia, Wyoming and Vermont and traditionally conservative states like Texas, Indiana and Oklahoma.

Policy Matters Ohio researcher Amanda Woodrum calls that "pitiful," considering Ohio is the seventh-largest state in the U.S. Ohio's 115 million transit trips in 2013 ranked No. 14 in the nation, according to the state's transit needs report.

"Comparing Ohio to some other states can provide misleading results," said Rep. Doug Green, R-Mount Orab, a member of the House Finance Committee. "If we made our decisions in that way, I'm not so sure that we would deliver the results our constituents expect. The work done (on transportation spending) by the Legislature speaks to our focus on ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent in the most efficient and effective way."

Transportation expert Joshua Schank agrees that it's not apples-to-apples when comparing one state's transit funding to another. For example, large transit authorities in New York City and Boston are state-run agencies, and thus do not rely as heavily on local tax dollars as Ohio's systems do.

"Those cities have very capital-intensive rail systems that are 100 years old, so they have much greater needs and the state is playing a much bigger role," said Schank, CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. "I'm not sure that would work in Ohio, because you have three big cities. So you can't look at that number alone and say Ohio is under-investing in transit. But that said, there is a good chance Ohio is under-investing because you're highly urban."

Some 55 percent of Ohio's transit subsidies come from local tax dollars. Here at home, Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) receives $48 million of its annual $94 million operating money from city income taxes. The state contributes $1.8 million.

SORTA officials are working on plans to get a Hamilton County-wide transit tax on the ballot.

Public transportation lobby not united effort

Ohio's transportation budget is approved separately from the state's general revenue fund. The Republican-dominated Legislature passed a new two-year, $7 billion transportation bill in March. Public transportation operating money comes out of the general fund, because Ohio law calls for most funds generated from state gas-tax receipts to be used for roads and highways.

With the transportation budget done, lawmakers' focus is on other issues in the general revenue fund.

"Public transportation competes against health and human services like Medicaid, education and economic development – and it's not winning that battle," said Woodrum, who also leads Ohioans for Transportation Choice, a network of statewide transit advocacy groups.

None of the advocacy groups, workforce development organizations and transit agencies have a solution for getting everyone united to develop a lobbying plan, she said.

"It's a disparate set of interests," Woodrum said. "This is a very important issue to many kinds of people. But coordinating that many folks is an expensive proposition, and I have not been able to get funding to keep up the campaign."

House Democrats still pushed for more money this year, because they say the transit study and Kasich's request for a small funding increase weren't enough. They asked for an additional $9.45 million for transit in the transportation bill and $54 million in the general revenue fund. Neither proposal made it out of committee.

"You can't say you want people to have access to jobs and then not provide access," said Denise Driehaus, D-Clifton Heights, ranking member of the House Finance Committee. "You have to put your money where your mouth is. It's very frustrating."