RTD Seeks Funds to Avert Bus Service Cutback

Amid accusations of “extortion,” the RTD Board of Directors on Thursday urged the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to release $107.8 million to avert a possible 50% cut in bus service.

In the event that funds are not received, the board said, a public hearing on possible cutbacks will be held on Nov. 29. The board delayed the date on which service cuts might commence from Dec. 1 to Jan. 2.

Supervisor Pete Schabarum, chairman of the Transportation Commission, portrayed the RTD’s threatened cuts as “media hype.” But RTD officials insisted that some buses would have to be halted unless the money is approved.

RTD board President Gordana Swanson said that a meeting between the two boards should be held “so we don’t have to put the public through a wrenching experience.”

Controls Sales Tax Fund

The Southern California Rapid Transit District runs Los Angeles’ largest bus operation, carrying 92% of all riders on municipal systems. The Transportation Commission controls sales tax money earmarked for transit; it provides about 22% of the RTD’s budget.

The money dispute centers on terms of three labor contracts negotiated with the RTD in June. The Transportation Commission said it will withhold funds until the RTD shows that the contracts meet labor guidelines established by the commission while the RTD was negotiating the contracts. The RTD said its contracts meet guidelines adopted in April by the commission, but do not fulfill changes the commission made shortly before the RTD contracts were signed.

A key difference, for example, is a provision that all pay raises be based on work performance, with the exception of cost-of-living increases. The RTD contract, however, gave bus drivers a 30-cent-an-hour raise not related to either the cost-of-living or performance.

To date, the RTD has been denied about $9 million per month. If funds are withheld for the entire fiscal year, the sum would total $107.8 million.

Underlying the latest controversy is a longstanding power struggle between the agencies.

Dip Into Reserves

RTD board member John Day said the RTD has had to dip into a reserve fund to keep buses on the street. He accused the Transportation Commission of withholding the money as a means of resolving other disputes. “We are the subject of extortion in this matter,” Day said.

Those disputes center on which agency will build the second phase of the Metro Rail subway project and the RTD’s decision to continue bus service in a disputed zone in the San Gabriel Valley. The Transportation Commission, headed by Schabarum, has sought to keep RTD service out of the area. Schabarum envisioned a separate transit agency for the area that would contract work to private operators.

As an illustration of the odd nature of transit politics, Schabarum aide Jeff Jenkins, who is his boss’ appointee to the RTD board, criticized RTD officials for announcing possible cuts in service in a press conference.

Jenkins suggested that “linkages” between the various disputes should be made to resolve differences.

Jenkins’ comments prompted an angry response from board member Kenneth Thomas. “I absolutely resent the (Transportation Commission) using these picayune issues to deprive us of operating funds,” he said.