Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Kim Acheson An Eau Claire City Transit bus waits for students to board. UW-Eau Claire students are able to ride for free when they show their university ID.

Throughout the school week, busses run every 10 minutes, taking students from upper to lower campus and around Eau Claire. State legislators now face a decision that could change how students get around Eau Claire.

Transit officials are working to sway the state legislature to establish Regional Transit Authorities, a municipality-formed body with the power to implement a sales tax of up to .5 cent, Transit Manager Gwen Larson said.

Nearly every state has RTAs, except for Wisconsin and without establishing RTAs, transit systems throughout Wisconsin could be facing tough economic times - and financial troubles could usher in decreased transit service.

Senior Ainsley Klar has lived off campus for the last two years. Although she hasn't used the bus much this year because of the nice weather, last year she spent months on crutches and found the bus critical to getting around.

"It was inconvenient to call (the shuttle service) so I would take the bus," she said.

Klar also anticipates using the bus more now that it is getting colder.

"I don't like walking in the cold," she said. "Especially when I shower and my hair is wet."

Eau Claire has been losing aid for transportation consistently for the last three years, Larson said. Money from the Department of Transportation is allocated based on tiers, each tier being funded at the same percent, Larson said. Eau Claire is part of tier B, which also includes Green Bay and Appleton.

In 2010, both of those cities' populations will top 200,000 people and they will no longer qualify for federal funding and will lose $4 million dollars combined. This, however, is not just a loss for those cities, but for the entirety of tier B, as there will be less money to share in the transit system.

"This is going to have a devastating impact," Larson said. "Transit is a huge part of getting people to work, no matter where we are."

Money generated by any RTA sales tax increase would be used to establish more service in the Chippewa Valley, increase the frequency of service and have later hours. Eau Claire, however, would not need to raise sales tax by .5 cent, but would only need a sales tax increase of about two-tenths of a cent, Larson added.

Continued...

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