Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Vermont Agency of Transportation flags rising costs, starts review of underperforming transit routes
Summary
Vermont Agency of Transportation staff told the Senate Transportation Committee the public transit program faces rising operating costs and lower post‑COVID ridership, prompting a review of underperforming routes and a reset of grant awards and budgets for the coming year.
Ross McDonald, public transit program manager at the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), told the Senate Transportation Committee that the agency is reassessing service and grants after five years of rising costs.
“We do have a presentation to talk about the budget and, our granting plan,” McDonald said as he opened the briefing. He told the committee that about 55% of VTrans’s public transit program funds come from non‑FTA sources and that the state blends FHWA, state and local funds to reach a program that now exceeds $50 million.
The committee heard that ridership has not fully returned from the pandemic. “Ridership, it returned. We're still about 9% under pre COVID levels, primarily because of commuter routes,” McDonald said, and that commuter‑oriented routes remain roughly 30% below pre‑COVID ridership. At the same time, McDonald said operating costs per trip rose about 13% from 2023 to 2024, driven by higher wages, insurance and vehicle maintenance.
Why it matters: VTrans said the total public transit budget has grown from about $36…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
