Silicon Valley Transit Users hup/ww.vtaridersunion ony - phone/pager (408)888-2208 - Twitter: @svtransitusers P.O, Box 390069, Mountain View, CA. 94039-0069 September 2, 2010 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors 31 N. First Street San Jose, CA 95131 VTA Board of Directors: Our group had a chance to review what the Ad-Hoc Financial Stability Committee has recommended for financial stability at VTA. Historically, VTA fiscal crises have been placed on the backs of transit riders in the South Bay. Since 2000, VIA has increased transit fares four (4) times, and overall service has decreased. by nearly 30%. Feedback from Ad-Hoc Financial Recovery Committee member Cindy Chavez indicated that "current VTA service levels are at their lowest level in 20 years” and that "service levels [are lower than that] of any fiscal year dating back to at least 1988." All this despite the fact that VTA has extended light rail to Mountain View and Campbell, and introduced the 522 Rapid bus service along El Camino Real and East Santa Clara Street. This “death spiral” of fare hikes and service cuts must change if VTA is to avoid bankruptcy. To that end, in the short term, we suggest reducing costs for advertising, marketing, and professional services. Care should be taken to avoid reducing such costs that end up hurting VTA long-term. This should also be combined with "Administrative Staff Layoffs" in VIA's admi n where employees are not overburdened with duties. To explain why we also recommend "Administrative Staff Layoffs,” research of prior VTA budgets from the 2000 fiscal year to the current 2010-2011 fiscal year revealed an 80% increase in VTA administrative staff from 62 to 112 employees. This is while transit riders were asked to pay 75% to over 300% more in fares. Worse, this is while transit riders have nearly 30% fewer operating hours to use VTA buses and light rail since 2000. The money gained as a result of a minimum 10% reduction of administrative staff can easily run a VTA Community Bus line seven days a week for one year, trative diviPension reform must be made a long-term, top priority at VTA. The same research mentioned above revealed a 30% increase in labor costs between 2000 until now. VTA must take all steps necessary - having employees and retirees pay more out of pocket for health benefits, for example - to control labor costs. This should include additional layoffs combined with wage cuts where it would not cause long-term operations damage at VTA. Careful consideration must be taken before VTA services like OUTREACH Paratransit are contracted out or brought in-house. It is useless when VTA services contracted out have to be re-purchased by the agency because the contracting company compromises service and safety for profit. Also, VTA needs to keep current regional contributions to other transit agencies like ACE, Caltrain, the Highway 17 Express bus service, and Amtrak's Capitol Corridor. This move prevents shifting the funding burden to other agencies VTA partners with to provide these services. Such shifts end up contributing to the "death spiral” of additional fare hikes and service cuts at the other agencies VTA partners with for these services. Overall, it is past time for VTA to stop putting its fiscal crises on the backs of transit riders in the South Bay. Please consider our recommendations for fiscal recovery so that everyone will benefit from a fiscally sound, cost-effective, and reliable VTA in the future. Your written response to our recommendations for fiscal recovery is appreciated. Sincerely, ; elt & wg ht ie ao 7 Eugene Bradley é Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users feeb