Courtney Mabeus, The Examiner
2007-12-29 13:24:45.0
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Montgomery County -

Public transit advocates and lawmakers from Montgomery County fear that a proposal by County Executive Ike Leggett to cut Ride On bus routes could jeopardize a promise of state funding for the service made during this year's special session in Annapolis.

"I don't think it's right to cut [Ride On] when we just went to the state and said we need more money," said Ben Ross, vice president of the Action Committee for Transit, a county mass-transit advocacy group.

On Dec. 21, as thousands of residents were preparing for holiday travel, Leggett sent a memo to the council outlining more than $22.7 million in cuts to local agencies to help shore up an expected $401 million budget shortfall this year.

Those cuts include more than $580,000 from the county's Ride On bus service beginning next May.

The memo does not detail which routes could be slashed but said as many as 2,000 daily riders could be affected.

Some may be left with no service at all, the memo said.

"They are looking at the routes right now," county spokeswoman Esther Bowring said.

Ross said he fears the cuts could leave some workers without rides to work and force others to drive in the already congested county. He also said he feared the cuts would damage the county's credibility in the General Assembly with lawmakers from other jurisdictions, who often frown on allocating any cash for Montgomery, the state's wealthiest county.

"Sure, there's a fear," Ross said.

Communications staff for Leggett referred questions on the subject to chief spokesman Patrick Lacefield, who did not respond to requests for comment.

Del. Tom Hucker said Gov. Martin O'Malley and Transportation Secretary John Porcari promised the county about $10 million in Ride On funds in exchange for the county delegation's approval of a revenue package intended to patch a $1.7 billion budget shortfall expected this year.

Although he said he expected O'Malley and Porcari to make good on their promise for Ride On funds, Hucker said the proposed cuts don't send a good sign to state officials and lawmakers.

"It's nothing I want to see," Hucker said. "I [have] got to believe the governor is going to keep his promise. I think the county ought to retain its funding for Ride On. Transit is always underfunded [in Montgomery]. ... It's always difficult convincing our colleagues that we have tremendous needs in Montgomery County."

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com