Users of the Charlottesville Transit System may see the program expand into a new partnership in upcoming years, but it remains uncertain if the University Transit System will take part in the effort.
According to Dennis Rooker, Albemarle Board of Visitors member, Albemarle and City of Charlottesville transit authorities are considering a regional transit organization that would put the two groups into partnership.
"Right now the Charlottesville system is operated just by the city, and Albemarle County is just a customer," Rooker said. "We want to build a regional authority owned jointly by the city and the county."
University officials have followed the negotiations very closely but are still uncertain about their level of future participation.
"The University's system is different because [the University] serve[s] a compact area with high-volume ridership which is more comparable to what you would see in an airport rather than in a city," University spokesperson Jeff Hanna said. "We are very interested in seeing how things move forward, but we have to keep our primary mission [of supporting the University Transit System] in mind."
Rooker echoed the discrepancies between the University's and city's systems.
"If the University was to join the city's system, buses could not be used for private charters and city and county stops would still be less frequent than stops on University Grounds," he said. "Long-term though, I think the University would benefit from seamless service between the systems."
During negotiations thus far, the University has been very helpful in providing advice to the city and county about their possible partnership, City Council Member Kevin Lynch said.
"Regardless of whether or not we actually combine with the University, there are a lot of opportunities for improvement," he added. "Neither the city [nor] the county has the same level of service that the University provides."
Involving the University Transit System in a joint partnership could increase funding available for improvements to city and county transportation. Rooker noted that while a partnership solely between the city and the county would not bring in extra money, the University's participation would increase state funding.
"If the University was to join, the state funding that is based on ridership would increase dramatically," Rooker added.
CTS Manager Bill Watterson said the University had over two million passenger rides during the last fiscal year, compared to CTS's 1.5 million passengers in 2006.
According to Watterson, a Charlottesville-Albemarle partnership would not increase federal funding because this funding is based on population rather than ridership.
"We would instead look to the possibility of more city and state tax funds," Watterson said about efforts to increase funding for the partnership.
For the 2007-08 fiscal year, 1.7 million of Charlottesville's tax dollars will be put toward the city's busing system and $600,000 of Albemarle's tax funding will go into the county's system, Lynch said.
Whether an official partnership will develop between the three groups remains uncertain, but the organizations intend to continue working together.
"We understand that the University has to see a benefit before they can be involved in a partnership, and it has no impact on our relationship with UTS," Watterson said. "CTS and UTS have worked together for quite a long time and that's definitely going to continue"
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