Post by Logan on Apr 3, 2017 3:35:39 GMT -6
Last December, this column looked at metropolitan public transit authorities, which some have pointed to as a possible alternative for running the local transit system.
As readers have likely not forgotten, the Sun Tran bus system was crippled by a 42-day strike in the summer of 2015, an event that led city officials to form the Transit Stakeholder Advisory Group with the explicit purpose of exploring policies and arrangements that would make future strikes less likely. After a series of meetings in 2016, the group formally recommended the formation of an MPTA, along with other changes discussed below, last January.
The key advantages of an MPTA cited by the group included its ability to choose between contracting out to a private management firm or hiring its own workers directly, its singular focus on transit, having a directly elected board and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to levy a property tax and provide a dedicated funding source for transit services.
Others, including Councilman Steve Kozachik, have expressed concern about the formation of an additional taxing authority that could compete with the city for scarce tax dollars.
Read more: tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/road-runner-legal-opinion-hinders-plans-for-tucson-transit-authority/article_2ebfc907-c2fe-58c4-b3cf-105365b52e87.html
As readers have likely not forgotten, the Sun Tran bus system was crippled by a 42-day strike in the summer of 2015, an event that led city officials to form the Transit Stakeholder Advisory Group with the explicit purpose of exploring policies and arrangements that would make future strikes less likely. After a series of meetings in 2016, the group formally recommended the formation of an MPTA, along with other changes discussed below, last January.
The key advantages of an MPTA cited by the group included its ability to choose between contracting out to a private management firm or hiring its own workers directly, its singular focus on transit, having a directly elected board and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to levy a property tax and provide a dedicated funding source for transit services.
Others, including Councilman Steve Kozachik, have expressed concern about the formation of an additional taxing authority that could compete with the city for scarce tax dollars.
Read more: tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/road-runner-legal-opinion-hinders-plans-for-tucson-transit-authority/article_2ebfc907-c2fe-58c4-b3cf-105365b52e87.html