Could the future of UCARTS be in jeopardy? A resolution passed Monday night by the Warren County Commission hopes to protect the public transportation service offered through UCHRA.
According to UCHRA transportation director Rebecca Harris, some of the contract services UCHRA provides that are handled through brokers or organizations have been put out to bid. Additionally, one of the companies the agency has been providing services for moved its call center from Knoxville to Memphis. A decrease in the number of routes can lead to reduced state and federal funding.
Explains Harris, “We have our federal and state dollars we receive, then we have contract revenues we receive. A combination of the two different types sets up our budget to provide transportation. We invest the dollars we receive from our contract services to provide more public transportation for everybody. We’re seeing there’s going to be a possibility the contract revenues will decrease, which will possibly decrease some of the routes we are providing across the Upper Cumberland.”
Harris expects the change to be gradual, taking perhaps a year to fully develop, but the agency is taking steps now to ensure it has the funding to maintain current service levels.
Warren County is the first to be approached by UCHRA, which requested the Warren County Commission approve a resolution to send to the state.
Said Harris, “The purpose of the resolution was to let the legislature know it’s important to the people we serve that we keep the revenues that are supporting public transportation intact. To try to keep those dollars together so that we can continue to provide the service that we’ve been providing at the same level.”
The approved resolution will be forwarded to state lawmakers.
UCHRA deputy director James Starnes pointed out that, contrary to what some citizens might think, UCARTS is for everyone. He said, “A lot of people think public transportation is solely for the elderly. Our public transportation is open to all ages. It’s not just elderly.”
UCHRA/ UCARTS provided 218,605 trips last year for the whole Upper Cumberland area. Warren County accounted for 17.6 percent of that total. Warren County has 12 vehicles.