MAX Transit Weighs Cuts, Fare Increases
Fewer MAX buses may be on the road in the Birmingham area next month, and riders could pay higher fares. The Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) says the changes are needed because Birmingham doesn’t contribute enough to cover service costs for the city.
Transit officials propose phasing in fare increases starting next month. The basic rate for a one-way trip would increase from $1.25 to $1.50 in September. Over the next two years, the fare would increase to $2.
At the same time, some bus routes would be eliminated and others combined. Transit officials say these changes would help close a funding gap that has been in place for three years because BJCTA has not charged the City of Birmingham enough to cover the services it receives.
Riders like Lucinda Franklin say the increases will be a financial burden. She regularly rides the bus from downtown to southwest Birmingham for class. She says she doesn’t have a job and the bus is her only transportation.
Bus rider Anna Brown says the changes would pose a hardship, especially for people who work hourly jobs or struggle to make ends meet. She attended a meeting recently at the Titusville Public Library to learn more about the proposed changes.
“You’re cutting my service, then you’re cutting the time back to 7 o’clock where most buses will run until 9 o’clock, but you’re asking me to spend more money out of my pocket,” she says.
Officials with BJCTA say they have no choice. Alabama is one of a handful of states that doesn’t fund public transit. The City of Birmingham maintained its $10 million contribution to the bus system in this year’s budget. The system receives federal money. Also, Jefferson County and other cities including Homewood and Bessemer chip in based on ridership. Transit officials say the system needs more.
Frank Martin, the interim transit director, says balancing the budget requires tough decisions. Historically, BJTCA has been plagued with problems. Martin worked for the Birmingham transit system for a few years in the early 1980s. While he was in Birmingham, the bus system shut down and the transit director resigned. Martin says he helped get the buses rolling again.
Riders and city leaders say the buses should be more efficient.
Martin wants to eliminate the funding gap, but he is aware of the problems and the public perception of the bus system.
WBHM
Frank Martin is the interim executive director for the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority.
“We realize that we do have a problem with on-time performance. We have a technology issue,” he says. “We know that the riding public relies on us to get from home to work and school or what have you, and that’s very important that they arrive on time.”
Students and teachers at the Red Mountain Community School in Avondale see these problems first hand. Once a week, the students visit parks and attractions around the city by bus.
Mandy Deter, one of the teachers at the school, says students typically have good experiences riding the bus. But getting back to school is sometimes difficult.
“When we return home after lunch after 1 p.m., we’ve had a lot of trouble with buses just not showing up,” she says.
On a trip last year, they used a transit app to plan their trip back to school. Deter says the route was posted and they waited for a bus for close to an hour across from Regions Field.
The bus didn’t show, so the group walked a few blocks to the bus terminal on Morris Avenue. They caught another bus and turned it into a teachable moment, Deter says.
“You have to always be prepared in a city change,” she says. “And in our specific city, what about these people who depend on this bus?”
BJCTA says it averages 3 million riders a year. Some of those riders have weighed in recently at a series of public forums.
Martin made a few changes based on that feedback. He says there may be more adjustments before the transit board votes on the proposal next month.
She owed $7K due to a water leak. Her utility saw the signs but didn’t tell her
Birmingham Water Works flagged Claire Ahalt’s account for unusually high water use, but she did not find out until asking a utility worker weeks later.
City OK’s $5 million to help keep Birmingham-Southern College open
BSC President Daniel Coleman said in a statement that next he’ll ask Jefferson County to meet the city’s commitment, focus on private donors and reengage with state leaders to work on getting more funding.
A year after the Moody landfill fire: “We need just as much help now”
Around Thanksgiving a year ago a landfill near Moody caught fire blanketing the surrounding area with smoke. The fire burned for months before the Environmental Protection Agency covered the landfill with dirt to extinguish the flames, but there have been flare ups since. To understand what things are like now, we heard from one nearby resident.
Why trees are an environmental and health Swiss army knife
Cool Green Trees plants trees in under-resourced communities in the Birmingham area to help mitigate climate change and advance environmental justice initiatives.
A pro jiu-jitsu league is bringing grapplers from across the globe to a small city in Alabama
For acclaimed grappler Brandon Mccaghren, Decatur, Alabama, was the perfect place to grow the Professional Grappling Federation from idea to reality.
The flu is soaring in the South and rising elsewhere
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new flu data on Friday, showing very high activity last week in Louisiana, and high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina.
