Todd Plesko: I've included information about Metro finances that you might find interesting. Here is the link below and then lets chat.

www.metrostlouis.org/insidemetro/newsroom/releases/mfinanceschat.pdf

Curtis Stalter: Is there any economics (higher fares, reduced frequency, shorter routes) that would allow you to continue Express bus service to West County, specifically Eureka, Twin Oaks, West County Rapid? Is it possible to design these routes to be self-supporting?

Specific suggestions: (much) higher fares for Express routes ($90-100 monthly pass); terminate Eureka/Twin Oaks/Big Bend at Grand MetroLink or Market & Jefferson; 10-minute timing on 410X is GREAT, but excessive. You never fill a bus.

Todd Plesko: Curtis: Express service in general costs approximately $13.50 per one way trip. After you pay your fare, the taxpayer subsidizes the rest of what it costs through various public subsidies. This is approximately $11.53.

This means that a customer would have to pay $27 per day to fully pay for the trip.

The 410X does a little better than other express routes, but it has a subsidy near $9 per trip.

Your suggestion to end at Grand Metrolink might save a little bit of cost, but not enough to meet current budget needs.

Scott: Why would the agency be cutting profitable, heavily used routes such as the 410x?

Todd Plesko: This was answered in an earlier question. There is no possible way to operate transit to make a transit.

Richard Mark: The express routes such as the eureka express was expanded because of grant money, is what I understood from reading the news. Money that was set up to keep routes open until 2010. Since metro is cutting these routes will the remaining grant money be returned?

Todd Plesko: We received some funding to support expanded service. However, that contract will be pretty much depleted by April. This funding was for two years but we will have spent nearly all of the money by the time we cut service.

MarkE: Why have Metro and Darin Cline in Charlie Dooley's office not come clean and taken responsiblity for the failure of Prop M? Your "campaign" was one of the most ineffective political or product campaigns in modern history, and failed to tell the electorate the real impact of the defeat of Prop M. With the real facts, instead of the daily deluge of pretty postcards talking about less pollution, you most likely would have gotten enough votes to pass the proposition. What are you going to say to the people who have to wait in longer lines at retailers or wait for services at St. John's or St. Luke's hospital because Metro and Cline's complete incompetence in getting the measure passed means that workers can no longer get to their jobs in South and West County?

Todd Plesko: Beginning in July and ending in October Metro conducted over 200 meetings with stakeholders, neighborhood associations, and others interested in transit. We conducted 19 formal public hearings in September and October. The purpose of these meetings was education and outreach to explain exactly what the impact would be if Metro was unable to obtain new funding.

Metro also distributed through newspapers and at the plaforms, hundreds of thousands of eight page inserts that describe our funding situation, the case for expansion and the impact of service reductions without additional funding.

Metro is not legally permitted to run the campaign, print campaign brochures or advocate for the passing of the tax. This was handled by a citizen group.

In the 1997 a similar campaign failed 42% yes and 58 % no. In 2008, the referendum received 48.5 % yes, 51.5 % no of a much larger voter turnout. Perhaps there will be lessons learned and another opportunity for the community to speak.