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Brevard Transit seeks $4.05M budget; general fund match shortfall could cut service
Summary
Transit director outlined a roughly $4.05 million budget driven largely by federal FTA funds; the department said a $183,000 required local-match shortfall is being covered by one-time sources and warned that reductions to the general fund match would curtail services and capital purchases.
Terry (presenter given first name only), transit director, briefed commissioners on the transit department’s 2025 budget and operational statistics and described a $4,047,000 budget in which federal funds support most capital and operating expenses.
Why it matters: Transit operations and capital purchases are heavily tied to federal grants that require a local match. The county’s ability to provide required local matching funds affects vehicle replacements, preventive maintenance and service levels.
Key points
- Ridership and service: The department operates a fixed-route service and paratransit; presenter said the system provides about 64,000 passenger trips per month on fixed routes and about 360 paratransit trips per day.
- Revenue mix and match requirements: Terry said about 80–82% of revenue derives from Federal Transit Administration funds and about 13% from state funding; general fund makes up about 4% of the overall budget. The department must provide local matches for many grants and reported a required local match of about $2.4 million with a current shortfall of about $183,000. The department is covering the gap with proceeds from surplus-vehicle sales, balance forward, advertising revenue and charges for services.
- Capital needs and vehicle costs: Capital needs include bus replacements, terminals and passenger amenities; Terry said 23 million has been allocated for vehicle replacement over five years and that a typical bus now costs roughly $600,000 — up substantially from roughly $550,000 last year and far above vehicle prices from five years earlier. He said about 20 buses in the fleet date back to 2007 and some vehicles exceed 600,000 miles.
- Passenger fares and technology: A single-ride fare was $1.50 each way and a 30-day pass costs about $40.46, Terry said. Transit has deployed mobile ticketing (a “flash pass” that shows a time/date pulse and color to operators) and is exploring more onboard validation technology to reduce cash handling.
Questions and context
Commissioners asked about vehicle vendors and price trends. Terry said the agency primarily purchases buses from Gillig, a vendor on the state contract, and that the fleet has benefited from purchasing multiple vehicles on state contract to secure pricing and maintain common parts and mechanic familiarity.
Ending note
Terry thanked commissioners for support and asked the board to keep match needs in mind because reductions to the general fund match could cut capital buys or service levels or otherwise constrain the department’s ability to leverage federal funds.
