Three big transportation events occur on Monday June 16th:

TARC Board of Directors Meeting

1pm, TARC Board Room, Union Station: This is the board meeting where TARC is expected to vote in both the high rate cuts and the $2 million in cut service. They're busted and simply have no alternative. This is also where CART will formally ask TARC for a plan on how they would spend an additional source of revenue to increase operations.

Metro Council Transportation & Public Works Committee

5pm, Council Chambers, City Hall: They will hear a report from Barry Barker, executive director of TARC, about the fare increase and service cuts.

Confident Cycling Class

6pm, Downtown YMCA: Bicycling for Louisville will begin it's all-singing, all-dancing bicycle urban skills class. In cooperation with the YMCA, enrollment in this class also comes with four day passes to use the Y. Bicycling for Louisville has more information and a link to enroll online.

Ear X-Tacy's concert tonight by Louisville band My Morning Jacket will draw a capacity crowd of 500 people.  The store's owner, John Timmons, suggests in this Courier Journal story that folks attending the show consider taking TARC or carpooling because parking will be scarce.

TARC Executive Director Barry Barker alluded to TARC busses leaving people standing at the curb due to full capacity. Suprising - I thought you could always fit in one more. Why is TARC so coy with its month-to-month ridership stats?

BB also says that the Lime Kiln route - #59 - is suddenly running with huge swarms of people on it, probably affluent east-end kids busing to school. If so, this is really good news! Those people have strong political connections, and can use them for Transit. I want these people on our side.

A coalition of local organizations is working on a ballot initiative to increase local funding for TARC. We're aiming for the big election this fall. CART will be sending a representative - most likely yours truly - to most of the TARC fare increase meetings in early June. It's a very exciting time.

Update: the C-J covered the meetings, and wrote an article about the idea.

Grim news from the Courier-Journal:

Just one month after TARC officials forecast dime increase in bus fares, the transit authority’s executive director said yesterday that skyrocketing diesel fuel prices require a bigger hit.

Barry Barker, TARC's executive director, said he’ll recommend the adult cash fare go up 25 cents, to $1.50 per ride on July 1, along with about $1 million in previously announced service cuts.

Before they were giving the community a choice:

• Small fare hike and Big service cuts or
• Big fare hike and Small service cuts

Now it appears they're forced into:

• Big fare hike and Big service cuts

In contrast, CART's position is this: When higher fuel prices are forcing more and more of our fair city's residents onto the public transportation system, we need to be expanding service, not cutting it.

CART is working on a plan to expand TARC service. Please contact us immediately through the "Contact Us" link above if you are willing to contribute knowledge or time to this campaign.

Barry Barker is to come before Metro Council's Transportation Subcommittee and speak on June 16th at 5pm. Details can be found at this city web page. The topic of discussion will be TARC fare increases and service cuts.

Wednesday, June 4

New Albany Library
180 W. Spring St., New Albany
5 - 7 p.m.

Thursday June 5

Nia Center
2900 Broadway
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 5 – 7 p.m.

Wednesday June 11

Bon Air Public Library
2816 Del Rio Place
11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Thursday June 12

St. Matthews City Hall
3490 Grandview Ave.
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Metro Louisville Central Government Center
7201 Outer Loop
5 p.m. - 7p.m.

They mayor & Barry Barker took time out from the ped summit banquet to address our current situation with TARC funding.

Recall that as fuel prices rise yet occupational tax stays flat, TARC is cutting routes. For example this year they're trying to decide between two options, both of them hitting working people squarely in the chest:

ridetarc.org news release:

The TARC Board of Directors today gave tentative approval of a $68 million budget for Fiscal Year 2009 that includes a combination of fare increases and service reductions. The board considered several options for making up a $4 million shortfall resulting from rising gas prices and other costs before giving tentative approval to the budget proposal.

Under the proposed budget reviewed today, the base fare of $1.25 would increase by 10 cents and $1 million in service would be cut. The board recommended considering an increase to 25 cents and reducing the amount service that would be cut. If the fare increases to $1.50, about $500,000 in service cuts would be made.

“We don’t like increasing fares and we don’t like cutting service. It’s not the direction we want to go in,” said TARC Director J. Barry Barker. “But when you don’t have enough revenue, you have to do something.”

CART To REACT,

Developing...

Jon V., bike/ped coordinator writes:

TARC [Louisville's public transportation system] is distributing this survey as part of a long-range planning effort.  Please take a minute to fill out this brief online survey and help TARC set a course for the 21st Century!"

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=hhpRdEk_2fpKq0Tr66YW_2bnNw_3d_3d