RTA may delay next round of service cuts until after voters decide on sales tax increase

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority staff has recommended holding off on another round of service cuts as the public transportation agency readies to ask voters for a tax increase. 

CEO India Birdsong Terry and the RTA board haven’t yet made the final decision on whether to delay an additional reduction in service. The cuts were expected to take place this December, but staff on Tuesday recommended postponing them until August 2027 — after the May primary, when Cuyahoga County voters are likely to decide on a sales tax hike for RTA. 

Terry said during the Tuesday board committee meeting that the potential delay in cuts showed that RTA was listening to riders’ concerns. The agency’s financial projections have also improved slightly, thanks to administrative cost cuts, lower healthcare expenses and higher-than-expected tax collections. 

She cautioned that a postponement of cuts was not a substitute for asking voters to raise taxes, however.

“This is in no way a deterrent from the ballot box initiative,” Terry said. “This in effect gives it more pressure in my opinion.”

Facing a looming financial shortfall, RTA already made a round of service cuts in August. The agency had been planning to cut frequency on several bus lines in December, including routes that stretch across the East Side of Cleveland.

RTA held public hearings on the idea last month. Riders said they feared cuts would make it harder to get to work and could push seniors from fixed-route buses to paratransit, according to board staff. They also said cuts could make them less willing to support a tax increase and could continue to weaken the transit system. 

“Riders said that cuts would lead to further ridership loss and in turn resulting in further cuts,” Jeffrey Macko, RTA’s service planning manager, told board trustees at this week’s meeting. “This is often referred to as the transit death spiral.”

Decision on tax levy expected later in September

RTA receives its largest source of income from Cuyahoga County’s sales tax. Out of the 8% levied on purchases throughout the county, 1 percentage point goes to RTA. The agency projects $286.1 million in sales tax receipts next year, before accounting for any increase. 

The board has already voted to ask for a tax increase in the May 2027 election. Trustees are expected to decide Sept. 22 just how much of a hike to request. Staff have recommended seeking to raise RTA’s tax to 1.5%. 

RTA projects a budget squeeze in the coming years. Without a tax increase, the transit agency expects to end 2029 with a balance of just $2.5 million in its general operating fund, staff told the board on Tuesday. RTA has seen a long-term ridership decline, although the agency regained some of the ridership that it lost at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Terry has argued that RTA is overdue for a tax hike. The 1% levy has been in place since voters approved it in 1975. If the measure passes next year, she has said RTA plans to channel new revenue into service expansions. 

But that long absence from the ballot box also means RTA has little campaign experience. The agency hired the political consulting firm Burges & Burges and pollster LJR Custom Solutions earlier this year to test public opinion on public transit. 

The transit agency also works with local marketing firm AdCom to shape its public messaging. On Tuesday, the company gave the board an overview of its strategy, including some talking points for specific audiences such as riders, non-riders and business leaders. 

One trustee, Emily Garr Pacetti, said the board ought be able to make a “clear and crisp” case for why taxpayers should pay more for transit. 

“I think it’s important just to keep that front and center,” she said, “that we need to let people know what exactly they’re paying for.”