WOODBRIDGE, Va. — As transit officials in Prince William County wrangle with how to keep buses rolling, riders won’t have to worry about service cuts in the coming year.
Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission Interim Director Eric Marx issued this statement to riders of OmniRide commuter, and OmniLink local buses:
“PRTC has started preparing its FY18 budget, and I’m pleased to share some encouraging news with you.
At a special meeting on October 24, the PRTC Board of Commissioners agreed that bus services should not be cut in FY18, which runs from July 2017-June 2018.
A stable year with no service cuts will enable PRTC to complete its strategic planning effort and allow the Board, our customers and other interested parties in our community to form a vision of what public transportation should look like in the Prince William area in the future. It also provides us with additional time to seek a stable and sustainable alternate source of funding.
Those of you who are familiar with PRTC know that we’ve cut service often over the past eight years due to declining revenues from the area’s motor fuels tax combined with other federal and local funding issues. While we still have a long budget process in front of us, the prospect of being able to continue providing bus services at current levels is noteworthy.”
Local bus service in Prince William County is funded now solely through the state’s 2.1% motor fuels tax, charged at the pump each time drivers fill up in Northern Virginia.
The Prince William County Government earlier this year moved to rely on the motors fuels tax exclusively to fund buses. At the same time, shifted its source of funding for Virginia Railway Express commuter rail trains from fuels tax funding to a pot of money given to the county by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission that supposed to be used for roadway improvements.
PRTC officials still face a shortfall in funding as the motors fuels tax continues to produce less funding year over year as gas prices fluctuate and new cars continue to earn better fuel economy ratings.
From PRTC:
Why is an alternative funding source necessary? “Alternative sustainable funding sources are needed because (as you know) funding from the 2.1% motor fuels tax revenue has been insufficient to cover existing services due to the continued drop in fuel prices.”
What sources are being reviewed? “PRTC is in the midst of a strategic planning effort, which includes examining other possible sources.”
Where are we with the budget this year vs. last year? “The FY2018 proposed budget process is under way and will be presented to the Commission at its January 2017 meeting.”
Last year in the light of a budget shortfall, OmniRide riders faced the threat of potential cuts to commuter routes as the system explored the possibility of rerouting buses to have them serve only Metro stations. Thankfully for many, those service changes never happened.
So, what does PRTC need to do to secure a permanent, reliable source of funding? Potomac Local asked state legislators and local officials and received these responses. We’ve posted them in the order we received them:
Delegate Mark Dudenhefer (Stafford, Woodbridge)
“I’m not on [the PRTC Board of Commissioners], so my knowledge is superficial. I believe that the majority of their problems with funding shortfalls has come from the decline is gas prices which the gas tax is based on. Gas prices have stabilized a bit which has stopped the leak temporarily.At the state level we hear most often about setting a tax floor. As you can imagine this is a touchy subject. Where do you set the floor? Many don’t think we should set a floor at all. “
Senator Scott Surrovell (Fairfax, Stafford, Woodbridge)“I am pleased that PRTC is not cutting service, but the General Assembly needs to step up and correct the drafting error that resulted in Prince William County losing millions of dollars in transit revenues. We tried to correct this legislatively last year, but it got caught up in politics.”
Delegate Richard Anderson (Prince William County)“The PRTC Board met on October 24th to adopt budget guidelines for FY18 and decided that we would maintain services in FY18 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018). That decision gives us the necessary time to identify alternate funding sources to fill the hole left by declining tax revenues that result from dramatically lower gas prices. For now, the way ahead is indefinite, but will take on greater clarity after we get beyond several key events that include the following:
– PRTC Board Strategic Planning Session, December 3rd, 8am-12pm, McCoart Government Center (open to the public)
– Governor’s Budget Presentation to the annual joint meeting of the House and Senate money committees, December 16th, 9:30-11am, General Assembly Building in Richmond (open to the public). This event puts the Governor’s proposals in the hands of the legislative branch and permits us to consider PRTC’s budget concerns.
– Convening the 2017 legislative session of the Virginia General Assembly on January 11th (adjourns February 28th). Sometime prior to the opening of session, we’ll have a detailed legislative plan in hand from Hefty Wiley & Gore (HWG), the firm recently hired by PRTC to advocate for a solution to the challenge presented by declining tax revenues. HWG is working on the plan now, and I don’t have visibility into the plan as I type these words.”
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