I-Team

WORCESTER (WBZ) ― You might not ride the bus in your hometown, but in most cases you're paying for it. Your taxes heavily subsidize something called Regional Transit Authorities. There are15 separate RTA's spread across the state, providing public transportation in 231 communities.

The I-Team took a ride on some of the busses provided by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority during the height of the summer season. We found empty, and nearly empty, busses rumbling along Cape Cod roads. Critics are concerned that the system isn't efficient, and is too reliant on government subsidies.

Take the Worcester Regional Transit Authority for example. It serves Worcester, as well as communities like Holden and Shrewsbury. The I-Team found more than 80 percent of its operating expenses are covered by people who never get on one of these busses. The money comes from local, state, and federal taxes.

Numbers like that concern David Tuerck, PhD, of the Beacon Hill Institute. He said, "Anytime you have an operation that depends heavily on government subsidies, you have to be suspicious of its efficiency."

The I-Team examined the finances of the Regional Transit Authorities to determine each one's dependency on public subsidies. 68 percent of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority's budget is from government subsidies. The Brockton Regional Transit Authority has 74 percent of its expenses covered by government handouts. The Merrimac Valley Transit Authority gets 81 percent of its budget from taxpayers. System wide, the I-Team found taxpayers footing more than half of a $232 million budget.

Tuerck thinks that's a bad idea. "It's making these authorities, like Worcester, overly dependent on government subsidies. In the time of budget cuts, when we are laying off firemen, teachers, and police, we should be doing everything we can to make these transit authorities sustainable."

Jim Scanlon is in charge of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority and is president of the RTA association. He admits these authorities aren't cheap to operate. He says that overall ridership is up and that these authorities need all that taxpayer money to provide a vital link in the public transportation network. "It's there to serve people that don't have the means or the access to any other transportation," said Scanlon.

When asked how closely the authorities watch for underutilized lines, Scanlon said "I think that what we all have to do is recognize that when services aren't working, we have to make improvements."

It appears there's room for that. The I-Team didn't just find empty busses riding around on the Cape. One big bus in North Andover was a lonely place to be. Even in a large city like Worcester, demand can be low on some routes. When we asked riders, they said busses are often empty and that it isn't very hard to find a seat.

Tuerck thinks that at some point lawmakers should ask the question whether or not we can afford these large subsidies, particularly if some of the routes are not well used. "They might say to themselves, 'Look it might be cheaper to let these people call a cab and take it.'"

Another issue is the amount of the fares. Most of the transit authorities charge around $1 to ride the bus. Tuerck says officials are probably reluctant to raise fares due to the political backlash.

Some authorities have also seen a steep decline in usage when they have a put a fare hike in place. That was one of the reasons given why ridership has plunged on some Cape Cod routes.

The state's massive reform of transportation goes into effect on November 1. On paper, the Regional Transit Authorities will be affected as they are put into the same division as the MBTA. Whether or not they see systemic reform remains to be seen. One long time state house observer told the I-Team the RTA's have been able to escape public scrutiny because some of the state's other transportation problems, such as the finances at the Turnpike Authority or the nearly bankrupt MBTA, receive all the attention.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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