Oakdale Transit Cuts Will Be Less Drastic Than Feared

The state budget signed Wednesday resulted in good news for Oakdale bus riders.

Metro Transit won’t be cutting back routes or increasing fares due to state budget cuts, .

Metro Transit had started preparing for drastic cuts that could have eliminated most bus service in Oakdale except for the stop at after the transportation bill passed by the Legislature would have cut $109 million in state funding for transit.

Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed that bill, and the bill he signed into law Wednesday contained a $51 million cut.

“We’re in a much better position than we were with the earlier bill, though funding challenges remain,” Metropolitan Council Spokeswoman Bonnie Kollodge said in an email message. “This is good for transit, good for customers, and good for the economy.”

The Metropolitan Council has canceled public hearings that were planned for August to get feedback on the plan that would have drastically cut bus service.

To plug the $51 million hole left by the state budget, Metro Transit will use about $15.3 million in new funding for transit operations from the Counties Transit Improvement Board and an approximately $7.2 million reduction in funding to suburban transit providers. The Met Council will assume $29.3 million of the shortfall by making administrative reductions through attrition, using capital funds for operations temporarily, using property taxes levied for the Right of Way Acquisition Loan Fund and transit reserves, according to Kollodge.

Metro Transit might still make some changes or reductions in service in September as it does every quarter based on changing ridership and demographics, John Siqveland said in an email message. The final plan for those service changes will be ready to become public in a couple of weeks, he said.