Service policy adjustment
Lawmakers looking to make slight revision in wording for Citibus transportation system
City aldermen are considering a slight change in the wording of a service policy for Kingston’s Citibus transportation system to bring it into compliance with Federal Transit Administration requirements.
“Earlier this year, the Common Council passed a policy related to how it would handle service reductions if they needed to occur,” Megan Weiss-Rowe, the city’s director of communications and community engagement, said in an email Friday. “We are required to add a few more words to our policy to put (it) in compliance.”
She said the city has been working with the Federal Transit Administration to finalize a Triennial
Review of the Citibus system and aldermen would consider the required policy change during a meeting of the council’s Finance and Audit Committee on Monday.
The proposed policy change involves fare increase and service reduction procedures for Citibus. It adds the words “operated on any route” and “or more” to a sentence that states, “A ‘major’ service reduction is defined as a decrease in the total number of service hours operated on any route by 25 percent or more.”
The city has been working with consultant Mary Howard to respond to deficiencies that had been identified by the Federal Transit Administration’s Triennial Review. In response to that work, the Common Council in May adopted two separate resolutions to update policies and procedures relating to the operation of the Citibus system.
The triennial reviews are required because the federal transit agency provides the city with funding and wants to know how it is being spent, Howard has said. She said the Federal Transit Administration last reviewed the city operation in June 2017.
The deficiencies were discussed as part of a larger discussion between the city and Ulster County possibly merging their transportation systems. So far, though, neither the Ulster County Legislature nor the Common Council has received any resolution needed for a vote on a possible merger.
In early June, Mayor Steve Noble said discussions were continuing but had been productive.