MaX may get second chance

The city of Maricopa’s commuter bus service, the MaricopaXpress, may get a reprieve as the Maricopa City Council has decided to revisit the decision on whether or not to fund the program.

“I had several council members come to me and express a concern to put this item back on the agenda for consideration,” said Maricopa Mayor Anthony Smith.

The city council voted, 4-3, last week not to fund the bus service amid concerns regarding the financial feasibility of the service.

“To me it just doesn’t seem economically sound to spend $800,000 to service only a few hundred people,” said council member Joseph Estes during the meeting in which Estes, Marquisha Griffin, Carl Diedrich and Marvin Brown all voted against renewing funding.

Currently, of the $800,000 it costs to operate the service, $549,000 is paid through a federal grant. Because of the success of the program in its first year of operation, that federal contribution was scheduled to increase to $574,000.

“We proved we were a sustainable service, and ADOT wanted to reward us for that,” said Maricopa transit coordinator Kellee Kelley.

In addition to the monies provided to operate the service, the city was recently awarded $750,000 in federal stimulus funds to relocate the current park and ride location, which is leased through November, and to purchase a 30-passenger bus for the service, the first transit vehicle the city would have owned. “If the decision to not fund the service stands, these monies will need to be returned,” said city public information officer Jennifer Grentz.

Also in jeopardy is city transit manager Kellee Kelley’s job since 60 percent of her salary is funded through the grant. “If not approved, we will have to look and see if we can pull that portion of her salary from another area,” said city manger Kevin Evans.

The service is scheduled to end the third week of September if council does not approve funding at the Sept. 15 council meeting; however, one group is trying to sway the council’s decision.

Maricopa resident Jim White and several other riders of MaX have formed a “Save the MaX” campaign group and launched an online petition in favor of keeping the service.

“There is an impression that the riders of the bus are not skilled professionals, but that is not the case,” White said. He and the other members of the group plan to come forward at the council meeting and lay out the true cost of the service and its role in the community.

“Having a public transit service shows that a city is progressive,” said White. “A bus service is a benefit to the community. I have talked to several riders who said they moved to Maricopa because of the service.”

During the council meeting that resulted in a vote not to renew the transit service, council member Carl Diedrich estimated the city was spending more than $10,000 per rider to have the service.

However, White said council was aware that the maximum ridership on the buses was 150 people per day before originally agreeing to fund the service; to pull funding now for the service costing too much would put “egg on their face.”