Gary Public Transportation Corp. laying plans to cut drivers, routes

By Keith Benman, Times of Northwest Indiana
keith.benman@nwi.com

Gary Public Transportation Corp. could be making deep cuts in service as soon as May -- including eliminating some routes -- following steep losses in revenue, General Manager Daryl Lampkins said.

"We are at the worst-case scenario right now," Lampkins said Monday. "It's a situation where none of the funding resources have been made available to us."

Lampkins said he is still in the process of drawing up a proposed plan for the cuts, which he will present to the GPTC board of directors at its 5:00 p.m. Thursday meeting at the Gary Metro Center.

GPTC already curtailed all overtime for staff, which has led to long delays for riders on some weekend routes. Lampkins said he now will seek board approval for laying off five to 10 drivers.

In February, Lampkins outlined a series of worst-case scenario cuts that he said would take place this summer unless GPTC received some relief from state-imposed property tax caps.

Since then, the bus company's financial state has grown worse, Lampkins said.

GPTC has been unable to get the tax anticipation warrants it needs to fund operations until property tax revenues arrive. Also, tax collection rates this year are running about 73 percent because of the recession, Lampkins said.

GPTC normally needs tax collections to run at about a 93 percent rate to fund operations.

And on top of it all, Lampkins said at least $660,000 due to GPTC from the state's mass transit fund is overdue.

INDOT has received a requisition from GPTC for mass transit funds and is attempting to execute the necessary purchase order to get the money to the bus company, INDOT Deputy Commissioner Bruce Childs said.

"We recognize they have a funding problem," Childs said.

Lampkins said it is unclear where a legislative proposal to form a super-transit agency to oversee all bus and commuter rail in Lake and three other counties is headed.