BROOKINGS — The cost to catch a bus ride in Brookings and elsewhere in Brookings County is going up May 1.
It’s something the Brookings Area Transit Authority wishes it didn’t have to do, but ever-increasing costs, combined with cutbacks to federal funding, are forcing the agency’s hand.
“I’m really sorry we have to raise rates,” Executive Director Travis Bortnem told The Brookings Register. “I am. That is not something I wanted to do. I remember doing it before, the last time. That’s not a fun conversation to have with a lot of people.”
BATA last raised its fares in 2019. In the years since, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and, in its aftermath, costs for just about everything began ballooning. While federal support also increased back then, that largesse is no longer available, with BATA seeing a 10% reduction.
“We just have to stop the bleeding,” Bortnem emphasized. “Nothing is ever fun when you have to stop the bleeding. Right now, at all costs, we need to just — it needs to stop. It could get dangerous if we don’t.”
Fares within Brookings city limits will go from $3 to $4 per ride. For Aurora and Volga, riders will see a $1 increase from $5 to $6. Same-day reservations will be $10 per trip, up from $9.
Bortnem said BATA’s budget is around $2.2 million. Of that, roughly 45% comes from federal and state sources, while the other 55% must be raised locally via fares, contracts and support from the county commission along with communities such as Brookings, Volga and Aurora.
Maintaining service levels
BATA operates from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Reducing services isn’t an option, he said, noting that he already runs a tight ship and that any cuts could have unforeseen impacts on ridership, especially people getting to their jobs.
“I can’t see cutting anything back,” he said. “From 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., if I cut that back, I’m losing all these — those people aren’t just riding the bus; some of them are riding the bus to go to the grocery store early in the morning or maybe to go out and have breakfast, but most of them are going to work.”
A bus ride is oftentimes those souls’ sole option to get to a job and earn a living.
“People that ride the bus to go to work, they probably don’t have another option,” Bortnem said. “We’re in the Midwest, where we take care of ourselves — we do what we have to do to make things work and, you know, we drive to work. And so, the people that are using BATA to go to work, they don’t have another option.”
He added, “As much as I could say — yeah, we could cut back and start at 6 a.m.; that hour a day doesn’t save me any money. It saves me wages for two people for an hour. That doesn’t do anything.”
Bortnem estimated that, in Brookings, BATA serves 10% of the community.
“That’s a large portion. I think it’s important, and I think we have to understand that there’s a lot of people — even though we’re Midwest people, and we like to take care of ourselves — I think we have to look at there’s a lot of people that can’t. So, we have to be able to take care of them, too.”
Financial pain
Bortnem is acutely aware the fare increases will likely cause financial pain in some local households.
“We’re all getting hit, so I understand it could be harder for some of our people to ride the bus,” he said. “Some of our people might not ride to go to the grocery store three, four, five times a week — they might go once.
“I think it’s probably going to force some people to budget a little bit tighter. I hope it’s not detrimental to anybody,” Bortnem added. “I understand, but we are trying to run a business; we’re not trying to run a social program where we’re open for six hours a day, essentially, getting people to and from.”
With costs piling up, “We can’t expect to be run like it’s 25 years ago. We can’t. Or even 10 years ago.”
All that said, he reiterated that boosting fares wasn’t desirable, but things were just getting to be too much.
“Is it something that we want to do? Absolutely not,” Bortnem said. “If we don’t go up, how long do we wait? There’s got to come a point in time where your expenses are just too much to be able to absorb it all. So, you have to increase revenue somewhere. And if it’s not coming from the federal government or the state government, it’s got to come locally somewhere.”
Study’s importance
Amid the cost spikes, federal funding reductions and fare increases, there might be a bit of hope in the form of a study the state is undertaking. It’s intended to show the economic impact in South Dakota of public transit services if federal and state funding were to be increased.
“Roundabout, I think it’s the only way we’re going to get word out enough to the legislators, to the governor … how important it is to keep public transit alive and well in South Dakota,” Bortnem said.
Still, even if the study’s eventual findings are positive, any potential funding opportunities are likely at least two years out. That’s because it’ll take time to convince state lawmakers of public transit’s importance. Success in that arena isn’t guaranteed.
“No matter how good the information you get, we’re still trying to vie for money that everybody wants,” Bortnem said. “Is public transit a large enough portion of the constituency to warrant giving us what we need to help fill in the gap? I don’t know. I think it is.”
Keeping people in their homes
To that point, he transitioned to a more human-focused angle regarding how critical public transit is to the overall community.
“I hate to even keep saying that it’s a money thing,” Bortnem said. “The reality is public transit in rural America, the main goal is to keep people living in their own homes longer, being able to stay in the community because there’s options for them to get where they need to go, have medical transportation so they’re not skipping appointments because they can’t get there — which should in turn make us a healthier community.”
He continued, “You don’t want to have to put people into nursing homes because they can’t take care of themselves. If they can get up in the morning, and they can feed themselves and they clean themselves and dress themselves — I can take them to their appointments, I can take them to grocery shopping. All that other stuff is where it’s important and what keeps people living in their homes.”
BATA’s previously mentioned role in taking people to work can’t be underestimated, either. “We’re going to get that person to work on time so they can be productive.”
Another factor to weigh, too, is that transporting youngsters to and from activities makes up a huge portion of its business — 30% to 40% of the agency’s rides. That, in turn, offers peace of mind to parents.
“Parents get to stay at work. They don’t have to figure out how they’re going to get their kid to school, how they’re going to get their kid to this appointment, that appointment,” Bortnem explained. “We get to keep them at work, productive, so they’re good employees. The kids have a safe ride … nowhere else in the world would you put a 3-year-old on the bus, but we do it every day.”
“It is a numbers thing, but the benefits of what we do are so much more than a number,” Bortnem said.
When you get to the nuts and bolts of it all, he wants BATA to be around for the long haul. Taking action now can only help him achieve that goal.
“I really appreciate all the stuff that we get to do for the community, and the benefit we put here, and I just want to keep that going,” Bortnem said. “I want to see it stay here forever, but that’s going to cost. Sometimes when we want stuff bad enough, we have to pony up. That’s just the point we’re at.”
He added, “I’ve exhausted all ideas on how to raise this money. Fundraising is not easy. Everybody is looking for a dollar right now.”
In closing, Bortnem acknowledged the fare increases a final time.
“I know it’s going to pinch a little bit, but I want everyone to know that I’m getting pinched with them,” Bortnem said. “We’re doing what we have to do to keep this place open. I foresee it being — if we wouldn’t do it, a couple of years and we’d be tapped out. Done.”
— Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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