ATA warns city: ridership is recovering but local funding cuts could cost $900,000 in federal transit facility funds

An ATA representative (speaker S5) briefed the commission on transit trends and the agency’s 2027 budget request. S5 reported overall ridership increases of 26%—including a 16% rise on fixed routes and a 113% jump on the expanded K‑18 Connect—and said the KDOT‑funded regional expansion has improved access. “In January of this year, we started an expansion of the K 18 connect, and ridership has increased by a 113%,” S5 told the commission.

S5 described recent local funding reductions—Gary County cut $40,000 and the school district ended a $71,528 contribution—and said the combination has jeopardized operations and local match requirements. “We cannot sustain the services that we're operating today with those kinds of budget cuts,” S5 said. ATA requested $122,000 in operations support and urged the commission to work on local match strategies; staff and commissioners discussed fare policy, local match rules under federal grant accounting, and potential in‑kind matches. S5 also warned that the community risks losing approximately $900,000 in federal funding approved for a transit facility if a local match plan is not put in place.

Commissioners asked for more detailed ridership and unduplicated rider data and agreed staff should provide additional statistics and options to protect awarded grants. Daphne (marketing/transportation communications, S12) contributed a local rides figure estimate for Junction City (about 20,000 boardings in the most recent year) and offered to assist with data follow‑up.