The lack of a reliable funding stream has significantly contributed to the budget problems that may force Metro to increase fares next year, a spokeswoman for the transit system said Wednesday.
Other transit systems across the country rely on money from a sales tax or other source to generate crucial operating funding not provided by passenger fares or government subsidies.
Los Angeles’ public transit system receives 74 percent of its operating budget from subsidies and a dedicated revenue source. Subsidies from state and local governments account for just 40 percent of Metro’s operating budget, leaving the rest of the revenue burden on passengers.
“Every year we face a shortfall,” Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith told The Examiner. “We’re the only major transit system that does not have a strong source of dedicated funding.”
Metro General Manager John Catoe is scheduled to propose fare increases next week to the system’s board of directors.
Catoe also plans to press Congress for federal funding, preferably from a source such as a sales tax that would flow into Metro’s bank account instead of going through a legislative appropriations process.
His request will likely face opposition from conservative lawmakers who have fought other attempts to secure federal funding. Some legislators have questioned the transit system’s fiscal practices, especially after an Examiner report in April that found 125 of Metro’s train and bus operators,plus dozens of other hourly employees, earned more than $100,000 in fiscal 2006 thanks to hefty overtime payments.
“With the large amount of federal funds going into the Metro system, there needs to be stringent oversight of how the money is spent,” said Brian Robinson, a spokesman for Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., who sponsored overtime-restricting amendments to House legislation that provide federal funding for Metro capital projects.
The bill with Westmoreland’s amendments is nearing a vote in the House and would provide $1.5 billion over 10 years.
