Funding Shortfalls Result in Service Cuts for Cleveland's Regional Transit Authority

"After losing $20.2 million per year from a source of sales taxes, RTA leaders announced cuts Tuesday in 15 routes' frequency of service effective March 11," reports Grant Segall.

According to Segall, the service reduction will take place on some of the system's least-used routes, but no routes will be cut entirely. The 15 routes in question "will be traveled up to half as often at certain times."

Trouble over transit funding in Ohio has been brewing for several months now, after Medicaid stopped paying its state-mandated sales taxes for managed care. "Ohio officials negotiated franchise fees for managed care that cover their share of those taxes but not the transit or county shares," according to Segall.

Mathew Richmond seemed to predict the announcement of the service reduction when he wrote the day before, and in much detail, on the funding shortfalls facing the RTA.