This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: July 31, 2008 - There was no cake, but St. Louis area leaders celebrated MetroLink's 15th anniversary Thursday morning with a big birthday wish -- that voters approve in November a measure that would infuse the system with cash.
A proposal on the November ballot would increase the county's transit sales tax from one-quarter of a cent to three-quarters of a cent. If passed, the increase would bring in an expected $80 million a year -- $40 million for Metro's operating expenses and $40 million for expansion of MetroLink.
The need for money is so severe that the system faces drastic cuts and riders face fare increases if the measure does not pass, said Robert J. Baer, Metro president and CEO. "We are not interested in cutting service. We are not interested in raising fares, but both will occur if there is not a new source of revenue," he added.
Four panels at a transit summit at Washington University Thursday took a look backward at the system's success and shortcomings -- and forward to the future of regional mass transit.
High cost of standing still
The message from most panelists was loud and clear and the same: Metro needs more money to keep the area's mass transit moving.
Patrick Murphy, vice president of production for KETC Channel 9, who moderated the panel, noted that Metro has an annual operating budget of $220 million. With no new revenue sources on the horizon, the agency faces a $45 million shortfall for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, he said. This crisis comes at a time when commuters are shifting to mass transit because of higher fuel prices and environmental concerns, he added.
With federal funds drying up, Metro is looking more and more to the city, county and state for funding.
"The county is our biggest supporter, but because of other financial pressures, assistance to Metro has dropped from 64 to 50 percent of the (county's) half-cent transportation tax," Baer said.
He said the issue has not changed in the 34 years since he originally joined Metro (then Bi-State Development). "It's been 34 years, and we have not yet solved the same problem -- that of finding a permanent, dedicated source of revenue for public transit in our region," he said.
Baer said Thursday's conference would not solve the problems, but it could encourage a dialogue about solutions.
State should jump on board
Robert M. Lewis, chairman of the board of Citizens for Modern Transit, announced his group is launching a coalition of businesses, religious groups, non-profits and other groups to educate the public about mass transit and the need for additional funding sources.
Several panelists said Missouri could do better in the funding department than it has been.
"Missouri provides $1.4 million while Illinois provides $18 million to Metro," Baer said.
But Missouri may be hard pressed to come up with more money for Metro. Transportation funding in Missouri is facing "bleak times," said Pete Rahn, executive director of the Missouri Department of Transportation. "Money for transportation in Missouri is really in a squeeze right now. It's exacerbated by fuel prices. On the one hand we say we want people to use less fuel. And yet it's the sale of fuel that's the primary funder of transportation."
Funds from Amendment 3, passed by voters in 2006 to improve Missouri's roads, are coming to an end as federal funds are drying up and the state faces "an astronomical increase in the cost of construction materials," Rahn said. "We've been dealt a new hand of cards and no one has told us what the game is."
James S. Simpson, administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, offered an option that's not very popular with motorists: toll roads. "We need to get people to understand that you need to pay for what you use," he said.
"People don't like to hear about tolls," but bridges in New York city bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year, Simpson said. America is "stuck in the 1950s" with its attitude on toll roads and should look to public-private partnerships, he said. States should use the private sector "rather than having the tax payer foot the bill," he added.
"Mr. Baricevic (Judge John Baricevic, former St. Clair County Board chairman) and I have already had a discussion about tolls," Rahn quipped. Rahn had been a proponent of tolls for the proposed Mississippi River bridge while Illinois officials staunchly opposed them.
The panelists stressed that a strong transit system is crucial to the economic health of the area. Several panelists, including several from Illinois, noted that Metro serves the entire region and that Illinois residents are part of the St. Louis area.
Back at the beginning
Murphy offered a snapshot of 1993, the year MetroLink first rolled into service.
It was the year of the great flood, the Casino Queen made its debut, and St. Louis was preparing to host the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival, he said.
"Consumers were paying $1.03 a gallon for fuel and, as I recall, complaining loudly about it."
Former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary said he intends to vote for the half-cent sales tax in November but admitted he had reservations about MetroLink when the idea first came up.
"I was very skeptical," he said. "There had not a light rail anywhere in the United States that had come in on time and on budget to that point. I was thinking, 'If this thing fails and my constituency winds up paying the shortage, I'll be the first guy who's thrown out of town -- quickly.' "
At the time, McNary said he thought MetroLink was "a pig in a poke." He added: "I wasn't sure anybody would ride it."
He said since it was built, the system has been a success but added: "I was right about on time and on budget."
Kathie Sutin is a St. Louis freelance writer.