Tulsa Transit has almost $700,000 less than it requested under Mayor Dewey Bartlett’s proposed budget. The shortfall will likely mean service changes and fare increases.
General Manager Bill Cartwright told the city council budget committee about the plan to meet Bartlett's nearly $7.2 million budget recommendation Thursday.
Service cuts will be used to make up almost 40 percent of the shortfall. Buses will stop at 7:30 p.m. Lift service currently runs until 9 p.m. and fixed routes until 8:30 p.m. Two midday fixed-route buses will also be eliminated.
Cartwright told the committee his staff worked to find changes that would affect the fewest passengers.
"You're really looking at somewhere around 20,000 to 25,000 annual trips out of 3.2 million, so I think they've done a remarkable job," Cartwright said.
The affected routes will be 118 in west Tulsa, 318 on Memorial and 306 in east Tulsa.
Fixed-route fares will go up 25 cents to $1.75, and Lift fares will go up 50 cents to $3.50. Cartwright said riders can pay the current fares on fixed-route buses if they don’t transfer and on Lift vans if the trip is six miles or less.
"We feel like we can actually save some money if we can encourage Lift users to find a location — sometimes they may bypass a perfectly good Walmart to go to a different Walmart," Cartwright said.
Tulsa Transit expects fare increases will make up for about half of the anticipated budget shortfall.
