BATA‘s Future Is on the Line in July 29 Millage Vote

July 9, 2003

On July 29, it will be make-or-break time for the Bay Area Transportation
Authority (BATA) when voters in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties decide
the outcome of a two-part millage vote.
If voters turn down the millage request, literally all general public
transportation service in the two counties will be eliminated. That means no
more fixed route Cherriot service, no more demand-response City Ride
service, and no more outcounty rural service. That‘s because those services
are subsidized by local millage money, so if the millage fails, it will
essentially mean the end of BATA. All that would remain are a few
contractual services that BATA would provide to local agencies, who would
pay for the transportation themselves.
To avoid that scenario, volunteers who are part of Citizens for BATA have
been working on a campaign to “Keep The Buses Rolling.“ It‘s a grassroots
effort that has the support of a wide range of people and organizations,
including senior citizens from housing complexes, BATA staff, the Traverse
City Area Chamber of Commerce, Grand Traverse Project, the Bay Area
Coalition for Independent Living, Munson Medical Center, Traverse City Area
Public Schools, the disabled community, the Michigan Land Use Institute, and
the over 100 vendors locally who provide services to BATA.
“It‘s been very gratifying to see the level of support we‘ve been
receiving,“ said BATA Executive Director Joe DeKoning. “My biggest concern,
however, is that some people don‘t realize that we‘ll have to end all
general public transportation services if we lose at the polls. They think
we‘ll just make a few cuts but the buses will still roll, and that‘s not
going to be the case. I don‘t want that to come across as a threat, because
we‘re committed to running a positive campaign. Unfortunately, however, if
we don‘t have local millage money we have no choice but to eliminate
service.“

100 LAY-OFFS
In addition to eliminating service, BATA would be forced to lay off most of
its 100-member workforce. That would be heartbreaking news not only to the
BATA employees, but to the thousands of people who rely on BATA to get to
jobs, appointments, stores, school, and a host of other destinations. Here
are the stories from three regular users of BATA who symbolize the agency‘s
ridership:
Mike Costa is a financial planner and investment counselor with Matrix Group
financial services. For eight years, Mike has been a Zone 9 rider on BATA‘s
outcounty service, and uses the bus to get to his Traverse City office and
then home again virtually every day of the work week. Mike likes BATA
because it‘s a vital resource to the entire community with its range of
services, and low-cost fee structure. He relies on BATA because its buses
are handicapped-accessible, and because of its vital and supportive role to
the local disabled community. If BATA is forced to shut down, Mike said he
will not only be put at an extreme disadvantage but see a level of
independence taken away from him.
For Marge Nadlicki, an 88-year-old Kings Court resident, BATA is a lifeline
to the community. She uses the BATA South Airport Cherriot bus, which comes
to Kings Court several times daily, four or five times a week. Favorite
destinations for Marge include the Cherryland Center, Grand Traverse Mall,
Grand Traverse Crossing, and St. Francis Catholic Church, where she attends
Mass on Saturdays. If BATA goes away, so will Marge. She said she‘d be
forced to move to her son‚s home in Cheboygan because she wouldn‘t have any
way to get to church, stores, and appointments.
Bob Hicks is the co-owner of the Bookie Joint in downtown Traverse City.
Thanks to the dependable service provided by the BATA Cherriot, Bob and his
wife are able to function with just one car. Bob frequently rides the
Cherriot to get to and from his store in downtown. He said he uses BATA
because it‘s reliable, far less costly than owning a second car, and
convenient because he doesn‘t have to worry about parking. If the millage
fails, Bob said he will be forced to “tough it out and figure out some
transportation alternatives.“

THREE LIVES OUT OF MANY
Even though Mike, Marge and Bob are but three of the thousands of people who
use bus transportation, they are a microcosm of BATA‘s ridership in that one‘s disabled, one‘s a senior citizen, and one is able to live his life with
just one vehicle. All three are concerned not only for themselves, but for
the entire community, if the millage fails. They stress that the millage is
a bargain because for just pennies a day, BATA will not continue to provide
over 400,000 passenger trips annually, but increase that total because of
expanded services that the millage would fund.
There will be two parts to the millage question on July 29. A 0.25-mill
request for continued BATA services would, if approved, keep intact
Cherriot, City Ride and outcounty services and restore service cuts made
last December. A 0.10-mill request for improved services would, if approved,
allow for the introduction of fixed route scheduled services in rural Grand
Traverse and Leelanau villages, and demand-response service for those
passengers unable to get to a bus stop. It would also link to the fixed
route Cherriot service in Traverse City. It would also allow for the
continued phased-in purchase of new smaller buses, including
electric-powered vehicles that are environmental marvels.
How much would approval of the millage questions cost? The owner of a
$100,000 home, who has been paying $8.42 in taxes a year to support BATA as
part of the millage that expired, would face an increase of just $4.08 a
year. If the 0.10-mill measure also passes, it would represent an
additional $5 increase.
If you reside in Grand Traverse or Leelanau counties, please don‘t forget to
vote on July 29. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

John Tune of CML Public Relations is a member of Citizens for BATA.