ClasTran seeks additional funding to cover budget shortfall

The ClasTran bus service is looking for new ways to cover its nearly $4 million annual budget for paratransit in central Alabama.

ClasTran Board of Directors member Chris Stewart said the service was hit with a $1.8 million budget reduction recently. Stewart said the budget for ClasTran comes through surface transportation funds from the federal government, but the rules regarding the allocation of those funds changed about five years ago.

The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham has provided ClasTran funding since then, Stewart said, but a recent uptick in the number of road projects on the RPCGB's to-do list meant some of those funds had to be redirected.

Since the initial $1.8 million cut, RPCGB Director of Operations Scott Tillman said the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is part of the Regional Planning Commission, was able to procure $1 million in additional funding, which he said should keep ClasTran in operation until mid-summer 2019.

“There is a political [willpower] around to find funds to continue ClasTran,” Stewart said. “... I think we will keep going as long as we can.”

Stewart said the board of directors will be looking for new revenue sources over the coming months to meet the rest of ClasTran's budgetary needs. Tillman said one possible source is a 5311 grant, which funds operation of rural public transportation through the Federal Transit Administration.

ClasTran will also be conducting an operational analysis at the RPCGB's request, Tillman said, to find more efficient ways to provide its services.

“It’s hard to find efficiencies when you only have 14 employees,” Stewart said.

ClasTran provided 164,044 trips in the 2017 fiscal year, Stewart said. These rides were for passengers over the age of 60 in Jefferson, Shelby and Walker counties; people who live in or travel to and from rural areas of Jefferson and Shelby counties; and passengers eligible for paratransit through the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as caregivers and companions.

Learn more about ClasTran services at clastran.com.