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COTA turns to Legislature for help with bus system
With the Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority failing to get the two federal grants it needed to craft a public transportation system on Saipan, COTA now turns to the Legislature to fund the bus system.
Special assistant for public transportation Tom Camacho told Saipan Tribune that to sustain a transit system for the long term, “it’s imperative that taxes either from excise or fuel as well as fees from vehicle registration be considered to support a sustainable public transportation.
“Federal Transit Administration grants, fare, and other revenue to be derived from advertising and parking meter fare collections will supplement a good percentage of the costs or expenses to operate and maintain a transit system but it is not enough to support the entire costs in running or operating and maintaining a public transportation system,” he added.
In February this year, COTA submitted its request for entry into the Capital Investments Grants and Small Starts Program; unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s budget for fiscal year 2015 did not include COTA.
In April, COTA asked the Saipan and Northern Islands Delegation for $908,566 to finance the operational costs of the Saipan Fixed-Flex Route System.
“However, COTA did not received any response from the [delegation] chairman if our request is being considered,” Camacho said.
The amount would have allowed COTA to recruit 20 transit operators and one transit supervisor for two shifts per day.
“Once COTA starts generating revenue from the fare box collections and COTA’s program income from advertisements on buses and bus stop shelters, including the recent law authorizing that 50 percent of revenue parking meter fares and fines, all that money will be deposited into COTA’s special account,” Camacho said. “This will eventually reduce the annual local appropriations.”
