A portion of a local bus route servicing Scottsdale and Tempe was cut last month, and now Tempe transit officials are trying to provide long-term alternatives for some stops in Tempe that would no longer be available.
Bus route 66 was cancelled due to state-wide budget cuts, said John Kelley, city of Scottsdale transportation planner.
In March, $34 million of the Local Transportation Assistance Fund (LTAF), which supports public transportation in Arizona, was cut by the Legislature to help balance the state’s budget, according to the Valley Metro website.
As a result, the city of Scottsdale’s transportation funding was reduced by $1.4 million, Kelley said.
This loss led the city to cut many bus routes, including its portion of route 66 on July 26, which affects north Tempe residents. The route included stops on College Avenue north of Tempe Town Lake.
The repeal of LTAF funds also affected Tempe with a loss of $1.2 million, $230,000 specifically for transit, said Greg Jordan, Tempe’s transit administrator.
Tempe transit officials have implemented a temporary re-route of 66 pending a long-term solution.
In order to service the stops on College Avenue, which Scottsdale used to maintain, Tempe transit officials have extended Tempe’s portion of bus route 66 to cover those stops. Once an alternative is implemented, Tempe’s route 66 will end at the Tempe Transit Station.
Tempe transit officials proposed multiple alternatives to provide service to the stops no longer available because of the route’s termination at a public meeting Tuesday night.
They plan to decide on an alternate route and implement it by October.
Alternatives to the cancelled route included altering Orbit route Earth, which runs from Tempe’s Transit station to North Tempe and to Tempe Marketplace, to move a portion of the route from Scottsdale Road to College Avenue, said Sue Taffee, the city’s marketing coordinator.
Tempe transit officials are only proposing cost-neutral alternatives, Taffee said.
At the meeting, the most popular option was to leave the Orbit Earth route as it is and not provide service to the lost stops on the College Avenue portion of route 66.
Also proposed at the public meeting was the possibility of extending the time between stops for the Orbit Earth, in order to operate later than 10 p.m., when the Orbit buses stop running.
“The 66 really has turned into a lifeline for people, 10 o’clock or later … otherwise you have to either drive or shorten your night,” said Darlene Justus, president of the North Tempe Neighborhood Association, who was present at the public meeting.
Reach the reporter at anatwood@asu.edu
