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ImageWith rising costs, an aging fleet, and plans for future expansion, representatives from Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc. (TCAT) asked Village of Lansing Trustees to consider contributing to the mass transit system.  Armed with a study of where rides initiate, TCAT board members Pam Makesey and Dan Cogan, and General Manager Joe Turcotte asked the Trustees to consider chipping in $140,000, a figure Cogan called the village's 'fair share' based on ridership statistics.  But the response wasn't exactly what they bargained for.  "Why a Village? exclaimed Trustee Frank Moore.  "You have Pyramid, you have the hospital complex, you have the airport, Borg Warner... why not get people to kick in based on the benefit they get from TCAT?"

Trustees were quick to point out that because one of two top retail areas in the county are within Village boarders, the area is bound to attract a lot of bus and other traffic.  Trustee John O'Neill said that rides initiating in the Village are not an accurate measure of where riders are coming from, because many people come to the Village to shop before boarding another bus to go home.  Officials also pointed out that the Village has one of the smallest populations of municipalities within Tompkins County.

Tompkins County, Cornell University, and the City of Ithaca (with 58.8% of the ridership) contribute equal shares to the $2.2 million local share of the TCAT budget, which is filled out by transportation grants and bus fares.  Even though a portion of the County's contribution includes money raised from village taxpayers, Cogan presented a spreadsheet showing a discrepancy based on ride initiation statistics.  With the second highest ridership in Tompkins County, 12.8% of all riders get on the bus in the Village. 

TCAT can track where passengers embark as they swipe their cards in a GPS equipped device when they get on a bus.  The ridership figures were gathered over a typical five to six days last July.  But they only show when somebody gets onto a bus.  Using these figures Cogan extrapolated a Village 'deficit' of $136,787.  Only four other communities in the county showed deficits with Cayuga Heights having the next highest, and the Town of Ulysses (outside of Trumansburg) showing the lowest.  He said TCAT hoped the Village would pay its fair share.  "What's the fair share?" asked Deputy Mayor Larry Fresinski.  "With this number you are talking about $400 a year for every man, woman and child in the Village."

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(Left to right) Mayor Don Hartill, Attorney David Dubow, Trustees Frank Moore and John O'Neill


Mayor Don Hartill noted that $140,000 is equal to one third of the entire Village of Lansing tax levy, and that contrary to popular belief, the Village does not benefit from having the Shops at Ithaca Mall within its boundaries.  With a population of only about 3,500, he said the community gets back only a small percentage of sales tax revenues, which the County distributes among its municipalities based on population.  Additionally, Hartill said that the Village included 19% of affordable housing in Tompkins County.  "It's not a windfall profit for the Village," he said.  "In fact the Village residents subsidize Pyramid Mall."

Moore stressed that corporate interests that benefit from bus service should help foot the bill.  "Cornell supports TCAT for corporate reasons," he said.  "Are there other corporate interests?"

"I think that's a very good idea," Trustee Lynn Leopold agreed.  "They participate in the community in other ways, and I suppose transportation is something they never really thought about.  They just have colossal parking lots.

Makesey said that TCAT is in good shape, but that some busses in the fleet are long past their useful life.  She said the additional money would go to future expansion, which Turcotte says includes Park-And-Ride routes and creating a hub system where ten passenger vans would ferry riders from rural areas to a stop where they can catch a larger bus.  Makesey also noted that there is a constant call for expansion of bus services.  But Cogan noted that TCAT is unlikely to get the 2008 budget it is asking of the County, Cornell, and Ithaca, which could mean a cut in services if other revenue is not found.

By meeting's end both the Trustees and TCAT representatives agreed that the dialog had been useful, if only as a brainstorming session to identify a more equitable approach to funding the not-for-profit transportation provider.  But consensus among the Trustees was that while some contribution isn't entirely out of the question, it would need more thorough statistics to base a decision upon.  And that the $140,000 is neither fair nor likely.

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