If the Central Arkansas Transit Authority wants to provide enhanced services such as Bus Rapid Transit and more frequent stops on major routes, it will have to continue to rely on annual contributions from its city and county partners because state law limits how much it can raise through a dedicated sales tax, according to an agency consultant.
State law limits sales tax dedicated to transit to 0.25 percent, Dwight Norton, a senior planner for GCR, said in a meeting last week. GCR, an international professional services firm, is assisting in a strategic development plan to help CATA chart its future.
Even if voters approved a dedicated sales tax for transit, it wouldn't raise enough to cover the $30.5 million in local money needed annually to build and operate a service with a high-frequency Bus Rapid Transit through Little Rock's main business districts as well as other service enhancements the agency would like to offer to make the bus more appealing, according to Norton's analysis.
"I don't know if it's a curve ball, I think it is just a reality," said Jimmy Moses, a member of the CATA board of directors. "We've had this wonderful process going on, thinking about what transit can mean for central Arkansas, and then you get to the end and think, 'How do we fund it?' Well, they don't sync up very well."
Bus Rapid Transit uses high-capacity buses and dedicated lanes -- lanes set aside for particular types of vehicles -- to provide fast and frequent service. The routes would feature level platform boardings in which fares are collected before boarding, much like on high-speed rail lines.
Bus Rapid Transit is less expensive than light rail, but it is faster, more reliable and more convenient than regular bus service because it wouldn't be subject to the vagaries of traffic like regular buses are, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
The Bus Rapid Transit was favored among options considered at a meeting last week of the Blue Ribbon Commission of MOVE Central Arkansas, the ongoing strategic planning initiative CATA began in 2013. Almost half of the roughly 30 commission members favored it ahead of both light rail and a modest enhanced bus service that included more frequent service by regular buses.
The initiative was designed to take measured steps toward developing a campaign for a tax dedicated to mass transit. The agency now depends largely on annual contributions from Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pulaski County, Sherwood and Maumelle to fund its operations. Relying on the annual contributions limits the ability of the authority to tailor its routes and make other changes without requiring ensuing financial adjustments from its local partners.
Last week's commission meeting came ahead of a series of public hearings CATA has said it will schedule this month to gauge support for the initiative. A public opinion survey also will be conducted. The CATA board could vote on a final recommendation in July.
Under the proposal developed by CATA's main consultant, national planning firm Nelson/Nygaard, the Bus Rapid Transit would run from downtown west onto West Markham Street and on West 12th Street to South University Avenue. It is an area connecting high-employment concerns such as the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as well as several hospitals and a major shopping hub at Markham and University.
It would require 11 miles of roadway improvements, including dedicated lanes on about half of the roadways, and signal improvements. The route would feature 22 stations and require 14 bus rapid transit vehicles.
It would cost $30.5 million a year. Adding light rail to the same area would cost $49 million annually. The agency now collects almost 13 million a year from its local partners. A 0.25-percent sales tax would generate about $18.2 million a year. The agency collects about another $2.2 million a year in fares and receives about $2.7 million annually from the federal government.
Though some favored establishing a light-rail line, one member of the commission, Sara Lenehan, the finance director for the city of Little Rock, said she doubted voters would support it.
"I don't think you can lose sight of costs," she said. "It has to be reasonable."
But Moses, a longtime Little Rock developer, said voters won't vote for a dedicated transit tax if the proposal doesn't add significant value above what the transit agency already offers. Increasing the frequency of service by adding regular buses won't work, he said.
"If we want a dedicated tax, we have to give them something," Moses said.
The authority could seek a property tax increase, but the local entities all have the maximum property taxes now allowed by law, according to Nelson/Nygaard. One of the firm's principals, Joey Goldman, said the property tax isn't a good option, given the historical record on elections to consider increasing property taxes. The Pulaski County Special District recently saw voters reject a proposed increase in property taxes to help finance new school facilities.
To seek additional property tax authority or increase the amount of sales tax dedicated to transit, the authority would have to seek changes to law. The Legislature next meets in regular session in 2017.
"With the rollout of our new buses, the improvements we already have ongoing, timing-wise it may work out well to wait for the Legislature to come back in session," said Allie Freeman, the CATA board chairman, referring to the compressed natural gas buses scheduled to go into service later this year along with a new name for CATA, Rock Region Metro, and a new look for the buses. "It would be something we would have to consider."
After the meeting, Moses said that the needs of the region go beyond improving transit. For example, he said, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department project to rebuild the Interstate 30 corridor through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock -- with an estimated price tag of $450 million -- will require millions more in improvements to Little Rock streets, money which the city doesn't have, Moses added.
"The big picture of moving people around in central Arkansas ought to be addressed while we're spending big dollars," Moses said. "We need to do it not incrementally but holistically, I think.
"I don't think you can have a conversation about one piece of our transportation system without talking about all of it right now. It's a mistake."
Metro on 06/01/2015