Funding search continues to vex RDA

MERRILLVILLE | Even as the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority prepares to shut down one bus route and reduce service on two others within the week, the agency also is making plans to eliminate all bus service.

With funding running out, the first public hearing on dissolution of Regional Bus Authority service will be held in November, although an exact date isn't known, RBA Executive Director Tim Brown said during Monday's monthly board meeting.

The two-year contracts for fixed route and paratransit bus service are slated to end by June 30.

Some federal funding to reimburse the RBA for those contracts will be coming next year, but when it will arrive isn't known, Brown said.

To save money in the RBA's dwindling bank account, the Hammond Brown Line will end after Friday's runs. The Red and Green lines will be reduced to an hourly schedule. Those routes will run with three buses going in an alternating counterclockwise and clockwise fashion.

Finding a local funding source for operations continues to vex the RBA, Brown said. Some casino revenue still might be available, he said.

Funding was provided by the Regional Development Authority starting in 2005.

However, Brown told the board, the RDA won't fund operational costs any longer. The RDA will supply grants for capital expenses, such as the purchase of new buses and equipment. In addition, federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds will be available sometime next year for the Express Bus service.

The RBA applied for CMAQ funds in 2006, but the money couldn't be used. "The CMAQ dollars have been sitting there," Brown said. The RBA will file grant paperwork to receive those funds.

It's possible that if the CMAQ funds are realized, the RBA could restore full service on the Red and Green lines, Brown said.

Meanwhile, the RBA and Everybody Counts, a disabilities advocacy group, are nearing final agreement on a policy and procedures manual required by a federal court consent decree to provide demand and fixed route services.

A draft of the manual was presented to board members at the meeting.

RBA board President Richard Hardaway recommended board members read the manual, particularly portions dealing with the long-disputed complaint policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act policy and procedure section.

The board voted to postpone final adoption until its Oct. 31 meeting.

During a presentation on the federal consent decree, Everybody Counts' attorney Genevieve Essig presented an unsuccessful request for the manual to be adopted more quickly.

"Everybody Counts feels very strongly that (the policy manual) should be completed as expeditiously as possible," Essig said. "Waiting until your October meeting is a very long time."