MTA is forced to end Titans shuttle service

By CHARLES BOOTH • Staff Writer (Tennessean)• July 10, 2008 Tom Ballman, a brazen Tennessee Titans tailgater, once offered sage advice to those less-fortunate fans forced to park miles away from LP Field. Find a cheap parking lot, he said, and like thousands of others take the Metro Transit Authority's End-Zone Express Shuttle service to the game. "That's what I recommended to people who don't have parking passes, because it takes you right there," he said. Not a bad suggestion from a man known to dress as a beer keg during football games. But this fall, he'll need to offer different advice, because a new federal regulation is shutting down the shuttle. In April, the Federal Transit Administration ruled that public transportation agencies could no longer provide shuttles to special or sporting events. Those that did would risk their federal funding. "The change promotes the performance of this service by private companies," said Patricia Harris-Morehead, MTA communications director. "They provide federal funds to public transit agencies to buy equipment and provide transportation. I guess they didn't want to give the public transit system an unfair advantage." For about nine years, the End-Zone Express has shuttled as many as 5,000 fans to LP Field each Sunday. Harris-Morehead said about 700 fans bought season packages for the service, and the agency is working to let them know this is no longer an option. At least not a publicly funded option. A private charter service may take over for MTA, and with only a month until the start of the pro football season, officials with the Tennessee Titans are negotiating to get some type of transportation in place. "It's a vital resource for us on game day," said Don MacLachlan, vice president of administration for the Titans. "We're working closely and staying in touch with the mayor's office and everyone to try and find a solution that will ultimately result in having a shuttle service again for those fans who have been loyal riders." He said the Titans are "cautiously optimistic" they'll come to an agreement with a private bus line, but Harris-Morehead said some of the program's former customers might be able to find a ride on one of the five MTA bus routes that leave downtown daily and pass LP Field. Bus fare for adults is $1.60 per trip; a schedule of routes can be found at www.nashvillemta.org. For fans in eastern Davidson County and in Wilson County, the train is an option. Train may be option Diane Thorne, executive director of the Regional Transportation Authority, said her agency would continue the "Titans Game Day Express," a program that offers rides to fans on the Music City Star for about $15 on Sundays. Details about that service are at www.rtarelaxandride.com.

Council looking to restore $1 million to MTA

By MICHAEL CASS • Staff Writer (Tennessean)• June 16, 2008 The Metro Council is poised to restore $1 million to the Metro Transit Authority's budget for the upcoming fiscal year, a move that would save some public bus routes from the chopping block. Councilman Erik Cole, chairman of the council's Budget and Finance Committee, said the substitute budget the council plans to vote on Tuesday night would reflect the high priority the council is placing on public transportation at a time of bruising increases in gas prices. "It would be a terrible year to send a signal that we didn't care about public transportation," Cole said. MTA's board voted last month to raise bus fares and eliminate seven routes to help make up a $2.9 million shortfall driven by spikes in the cost of diesel fuel. Mayor Karl Dean's budget proposal for the year starting July 1 would cut MTA's funding by $400,000 even as the authority said it needed $2.5 million more than it's getting this year. Dean, who planned to increase funding to public schools and not much else in a tight fiscal year, has said he wishes he could have done more for MTA. Paul Ballard, MTA's chief executive, said the authority would wait to see the final numbers approved by the council before announcing the routes it would restore. "But it's good news," Ballard said. "It's great news." Any shift in budget funds comes with a cost, however. Cole said the $1 million would come from an assortment of "administrative accounts and contingency funds," including money set aside to help some Metro departments relocate before a capital funding shortage forced the city to reconsider those plans. The mayor's office, the council office and the Metro Arts Commission also would see their funding reduced somewhat beyond what the mayor proposed, Cole said. "We really wanted to demonstrate that we could spread out the impact," he said. The $1 million includes $200,000 Dean had already committed to MTA, Ballard said. Those funds would let MTA continue serving Metro magnet school students, who don't receive transportation from the school district. The council's Budget and Finance Committee meets at 4 p.m. today in the council chamber at the Metro Courthouse. The full council meets Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Mayor urges city workers to ride MTA bus

Mayor urges city workers to ride MTA bus Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has put $50,000 in the budget for city employees to ride to and from work on MTA buses. "It helps employees by dealing with the issue of expensive gas, it helps the city with environmental and traffic concerns and just makes us a more commuter friendly city," said Mayor Dean. There are 10,000 city employees, not including schools, and all would be eligible for bus rides. Mayor Dean said he encourages all employees to take advantage because he believes it's good for the city. "This is something I think we should be doing. We should be leading by example. Of all the things in the budget, I am really excited about this and I think it's a step in the right direction," said Dean. The Metro Council has to act on a proposal by the end of June. If it passes, city employees could be riding MTA buses for free as early as this summer.

MTA to hold public hearings on fare, route changes

By MICHAEL CASS • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • April 22, 2008 The Metro Transit Authority will hold four public hearings next month on possible fare increases and route cuts as it faces a difficult budget year starting in July. The authority is considering increases of as much as 25 cents to the $1.35 basic bus fare, it said in a news release today. The basic fare rose from $1.25 to $1.35 in February. MTA also is considering eliminating or changing the following routes: 1 Vine Hill; 2 Belmont; 8 8th Avenue South; 13 Sylvan Park; 16 Madison/Old Hickory; 18 Airport/Elm Hill Pike; 30 McFerrin; 31X Harpeth Valley Express; 37X Tusculum/McMurray Express; 41 Golden Valley, and 45X Oak Hill Express. MTA is facing a $2.9 million budget shortfall in 2008-09, CEO Paul Ballard said last week. It expects to spend about $6 million on diesel fuel, an approximately 50 percent increase from the current fiscal year's roughly $4 million fuel cost. The public hearings will be held May 5 at 6 p.m. in Rochelle Center (Building A), 1020 Southside Court; May 6 at noon and 5:30 p.m. at the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., and May 8 at 6 p.m. at Madison Library, 610 Gallatin Pike. People also can fax comments to (615) 862-6208 or e-mail them to mta.publichearings@nashville.gov through May 14, 2008. They also can call (615) 862-5950 or write to MTA at 130 Nestor St., Nashville, TN 37210.