Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA -- A budget shortfall has forced severe cuts in the Valley's bus system, reducing both trips and drivers, and stranding at home, at least temporarily, some people who have grown to rely on the buses.

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The funding crisis at Wasilla-based Mat-Su Community Transit comes as demand for the MASCOT buses has steadily risen over the past several years. Ridership jumped last year when fuel prices shot through the roof and many Mat-Su commuters parked their cars and rode the bus to work in Anchorage to save money.

Ridership on MASCOT buses between January and June ranged between 7,600 and 9,000 riders per month, up from between 7,185 and 7,793 monthly riders in the same months of last year. Executive Director Louis Friend said ridership numbers for July to September have not yet been processed, so it's difficult to say how the cut is playing out so far on buses.

"My buses are still out there. People are making adjustments. The buses are more full than they used to be. But there's inconvenience. People are saying, 'I may have to wait a little longer or get there a little earlier, but I still need the service,' " he said.

Friend said the public bus system cut its workforce nearly in half last month when, in a budget review, it became clear the company wasn't going to get as much funding as planned. Nine jobs, mostly drivers, were cut leaving 10 full-time and one part-time positions.

The board of directors for the 10-year-old nonprofit developed its budget based on last year's revenue of $906,000, he said. Most of that comes from federal transit funding and grants. The state, local governments and granting agencies provide matching funds.

But this year the match money proved elusive -- only $476,000 of that federal funding is currently available.

"We're looking at about $400,000 -- that's the match that I need," he said.

Friend attributed the problem to two things. First, everyone, his office included, was preoccupied with the puzzle of applying for federal stimulus funding. Meanwhile, every granting agency and government body is ratcheting down spending this year.

"Everybody has been really edgy," Friend said. "We've always been struggling to make it. This year was looking a lot worse."

BIG CUTBACKS

It's still a little early to gauge the effect of the reduced service, but Friend said so far time is the biggest casualty. A trip between Palmer and Wasilla on MASCOT used to take about two hours. Now the trip takes an hour longer because the bus stops at both regular stops and at homes if riders are unable to get to a bus stop.

Buses that carried late-morning passengers to Anchorage and overflow passengers back home at 6 p.m. are now parked, leaving only one bus headed into and one out of Anchorage every day.

Routes between Houston and Wasilla are running based on rider requests instead of a regular schedule. Two of the four routes between Wasilla and Palmer were eliminated.

John Shook, a former bus driver in Montana, said he relies on MASCOT to get him to doctor appointments. Shook said he no longer can drive due to adrenal failure, affecting his body's ability to regulate blood pressure, among other affects.

He was alarmed when he was told he'd be on a will-call list for pick-ups, and that the service might not always be available. Shook lives near Hatcher Pass, and on a disability and adult public assistance income he doesn't have money to pay for transportation, he said.

"By the time I'm done paying for my basic necessities there's nothing left for taxis or even for friends to give them gas money," he said.

Shook has since applied for a waiver that will let him use the Palmer Senior Center transportation service, something off-limits to most non-seniors. The waivers are difficult to obtain, he said, adding that he worries others in similar situations might be stuck at home.

"I'm sure there are many others who are unable to receive medical care now because of what's going on with MASCOT," he said.

TAXIS FOR THE POOR?

Friend said he wants to hear from residents who aren't getting bus service.

"I need those folks to call the Transit hot line," he said. That number is 376-5000.

Ron Kreher, chief of field operations for the state Division of Public Assistance, said he's unsure how the change in service is affecting Mat-Su families on public assistance. MASCOT receives a state grant of under $100,000, he said, to provide services for Alaskans on public assistance.

"It's still a little early to tell," Kreher said. "It does appear that folks are adjusting," Kreher said.

Kreher said MAXIMUS Inc, the Virginia-based case management company that contracts with the state to oversee public assistance clients in the Valley, is considering whether to offer vouchers for taxi service, a costly alternative.

Meanwhile, the Mat-Su Borough is working on a solution. Acting borough planning director Eileen Probasco said she prepared a resolution requesting that the borough Assembly grant MASCOT $200,000 from its 2010 grant-matching budget. Usually the money is used to match grants the borough has received.

The measure has not yet been scheduled to appear before the Assembly.

MORE BUSES COMING

Borough transportation planner Brad Sworts said the borough is working with MASCOT in other ways -- to develop a short-range plan that evaluates how to craft routes that balance demand and cost, for example.

"We're doing what we can to try to get MASCOT back on its feet again," he said. "In addition to the funding we're trying to get through the Assembly, we're working with them to try to match funds to get more buses and newer buses."

Friend said MASCOT is doing well finding capital funding to build up its fleet. It has 15 buses and will have eight more, purchased with federal money, early next year. With borough help last year, MASCOT added two 30-passenger buses and two new 20-passenger buses to its fleet.

If the Assembly approves the money, Friend said both jobs and routes could return.

"The MASCOT board is very committed to restoring jobs and routes as finances allow," he said.

Find reporter Rindi White online at adn.com/contact/rwhite or call her at 352-6709.

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