Richmond residents pleaded with the city and GRTC Transit System yesterday not to eliminate several bus routes as a way to address budget concerns from rising fuel costs.

Annie Gaines told the City Council's land-use committee that she has ridden the Route 16 Westhampton bus for 35 years and depends on it to get to the grocery store and to the houses she cleans for a living.

Like many of the speakers, she urged officials to consider higher fares, combined routes or fewer trips as alternatives to the plan to eliminate nine routes.

Diane Fitts-Williams said she just bought a house and depends on the Route 13 Main Street/Church Hill bus to get downtown to her job with the state.

"I can't pick up and leave," she said. "I'm a homeowner now."

"There's got to be ways to have smart routes," said John Davis, who rides Route 16 Westhampton. "I say tweak but don't destroy."

Most of the support expressed yesterday was for Route 16 Westhampton, but speakers also said other routes that GRTC has labeled inefficient provide critical access to jobs as well as to meals and services for the homeless and poor.

"This is truly a major crisis that our community is facing," said Carolyn Burdett with HomeAgain, which provides services to the homeless.

The committee took no action on GRTC's plan, but the matter could be before the council for consideration this fall.

GRTC Chief Executive Officer John Lewis had hoped to have the routes dropped by September and said he's trying to erase a $4.8 million budget shortfall that's projected for the end of next June. He said the council approved an additional $1.6 million in GRTC's budget and that eliminating the nine targeted bus routes would save an additional $3 million.

A recent operations study found the nine routes are inefficient in terms of how much of their cost is recovered through rider fares. For each of the nine routes slated to be cut, fare revenues covered 16 percent or less of the costs.

"I don't disagree with anything anybody is saying," Lewis said after speaking with concerned riders after the hearing. "At the end of the day, I only have a certain amount of money to provide services." He said he's obligated to make the system more efficient before asking riders to accept a fare increase or government agencies to increase grant funding.

City Councilwoman Kathy C. Graziano said she's agreed to introduce a measure to eliminate the routes, but she said that won't happen until September, after the council's August break.

"I think we need to have the discussion," she said. "If we can't cancel it, we're going to have to find a way to address his deficit."

Two of the nine routes are in Henrico County.

The seven city routes proposed to be cut are Route 16 Westhampton, Route 11 Laurel/17th Street, Route 20 North Side, Route 13 Main Street/Church Hill, Route 61 Broad Rock Shuttle, Route 68 Lunchtime Express and Route 65 Stony Point Fashion Park/VCU.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.