Roger Fights to Keep Ride-On Bus Service - And Wins!

Fighting an uphill battle to do what is right for District 1, Roger effectively lobbied his colleagues to keep all the Ride-On Routes in District 1 which were proposed to be cut by the County Executive's FY 2010 Savings Plan.  Below is the text of the letter Roger sent to his colleagues:

"Dear Colleague,

            During our consideration of the FY 2010 Savings Plan, I will be seeking to restore approximately $500,000 in cuts to Ride-On service.  I am writing to ask for your support. 

To his credit, the County Executive revised his own position (and his targeted savings) on February 3rd when he restored approximately $550,000 in funding for a number of routes that would have been eliminated under his original proposal.  My motion would essentially hold the rest of the system harmless during this fiscal year, awaiting further analysis by DOT over the next few months as to whether certain refinements to the system could be effectuated that would minimize the harm to the system as a whole.  On the other hand, making these cuts now doom these routes forever.  Once cut, they will not come back.

I know many of you share my belief that Ride-On is a “core” government service.  The overwhelming majority of people who use Ride-On simply have no other option – either to get to work or to go about their lives.  They are often the same people struggling in this economy, the same people we design our “safety net” to catch.  And, for a community committed to environmental sustainability, easing congestion, and creating a context in which we get people out of their cars, cutting Ride-On is precisely the wrong thing to do.       

A number of you have asked about “offsets” in order that we can meet the County Executive’s target.  Here is how I am thinking about this issue:

  • In the first Savings Plan, the Council exceeded the County Executive’s plan by approximately $200,000. 
  • In this Savings Plan, assuming we offset the proposed retention of Montgomery Cares dollars, which I support, we will be $100,000 in excess of the County Executive’s number.
  • That leaves $200,000 to meet the County Executive’s “target.” The Cable Fund is currently projecting a “surplus” during this fiscal year of $1,384,000.  I propose transferring $200,000 of this surplus to the General Fund in order to fund Ride-On. 

Bottom line:  we can meet the County Executive’s target for savings in this fiscal year and retain our Ride-On services. 

In the end, this is a fundamental policy call, unlike the vast majority of the savings achieved under this plan, and it is a policy call that I believe we would be well served to make on behalf of preserving the integrity of our transit system. 

Thank you for considering this matter as we act on the Savings Plan tomorrow."