TARC's Board to Meet to Discuss Service Recommendations

by Stephanie CrosbyA new set of recommendations will be presented this morning to the Board of Directors of TARC.Staff members originally recommended cutting 20 bus routes and reducing 15 others to offset a projected $5.5-million budget shortfall. But those recommendations have since been changed to keep some of the express routes, but increase the fare by a dollar.Director Barry Barker says TARC recently held public meetings regarding the fare increase.“We’ve heard from folks who’ve said ‘raise our fare, keep the bus,' and we’ve heard from other folks that if we raise the fare, they’re not going to ride," says Barker. "So it puts us understandably in a dilemma that we’re still trying to solve.”Barker won’t disclose his new set of recommendations before the board meeting, but says even after this budget cycle, TARC will need to continue to look ways to make its business model more sustainable.