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Message from the Council Chair - March 2004

Help for transit-dependent people

The bus strike is hitting people hardest who have no other way to get to their job or their doctor or the grocery store. About a third of our bus customers depend on transit as their only way to meet their basic daily needs.

Gov. Pawlenty and I have been concerned about this problem from the beginning of the strike. And as the strike wears on, the impact is clear… and it's serious. People are making heroic efforts to get to their jobs and other places they have to go, but it's hard and stressful. And some just can't do it.

The Governor directed the Council to move on the problem, and the Council is taking quick action. We're launching a program that will reimburse private nonprofit organizations and public agencies for providing transportation services to transit-dependent people who would ordinarily use Metro Transit.

Our effort is a modest one and a temporary one for the duration of the strike. We will be making grants totaling $100,000 per week to nonprofit social-service agencies for additional transportation services they provide to transit-dependent people. The money comes from dollars that Metro Transit is saving while the buses aren't operating. If we find that the needs are greater than we expected, we'll expand the program.

This Transit Grant Assistance Program (T-GAP) is yet another action the Council is taking to try to be responsive to the needs of people who depend heavily on transit. We are also working with our four local Transportation Management Organization partners — in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Midway, and the I-494 corridor — to promote and encourage ridesharing.

The Council also has approved nearly $200,000 from Metro Mobility reserve funds to help provide up to 10 percent additional Metro Mobility capacity for a one-month period. Similarly, we are providing up to $10,000 a week to metro-area dial-a-ride agencies to broaden service to their eligible clients. Most are county- or city-sponsored services.

The T-GAP program involves a minimum of paperwork but adequate accountability for the services provided. See "Related news" (right) for an application and other forms that organizations can download online. Once approved, an agency invoices the Council for actual, eligible services performed, and the Council reimburses the agency.

A lot of people are in tough circumstances and they're looking to us for answers. It's important for us to step up to the plate and act now.

Peter Bell

March 2004