Eugene community members have organized to resist proposed changes to LTD’s services. The changes, dubbed Transit Tomorrow, would increase bus frequency on certain routes, while eliminating or combining others, but its critics say bus riders weren’t adequately consulted before the LTD made its proposal.

Transit Tomorrow would be the first significant redesign of the LTD system in 20 years, according to the Transit Tomorrow website. 

The current proposal would shift resource allocation so that 80-85% of all LTD resources go to “high ridership” routes: those with an average of 35 or more boardings per hour. That means a greater portion of the population would have access to bus routes that run every 15 minutes or less.

LTD’s goal is to increase ridership. Overall LTD ridership has decreased by 22% since 2011, according to the Transit Tomorrow website. 

Meanwhile, ridership on the EmX lines, LTD’s high frequency routes linking West Eugene and North Springfield through both downtowns, has increased by 35%. The website says one reason for that increase is “people don’t have to pay attention to a schedule.”

However, in exchange for higher frequency on some routes, other routes will disappear. The percentage of people in the Eugene-Springfield metro area who will have no access to regular LTD services, meaning they’ll live more than a half-mile from a bus stop, will increase from 13% to 18%, according to LTD data.

Related: LTD plans changes to services with Transit Tomorrow

One neighborhood that will be hit by LTD service reductions is Southeast Neighbors, where Transit Tomorrow stands to remove 54 bus stops along routes 24, 73 and 28. Just a week after the LTD Strategic Planning Committee presented the first Transit Tomorrow proposal in November 2019, the Southeast Neighbors Neighborhood Association created the Ad Hoc Transportation Committee to combat the proposal.

Committee member Linda Duggan said in an interview that she opposes Transit Tomorrow because, though the central corridors will have more frequent service, those who live in her neighborhood won’t be able to reach the corridors. People who can drive will do so, but anyone who can’t afford to drive or whose disabilities prevent them from doing so will be forced to move, she said.

Duggan also said that if LTD intends to increase ridership, there are many ways to do so. She pointed to the Corvallis Transit System, which stopped charging fares in 2011. Instead, the Corvallis Transit System is funded by a flat fee applied to buildings’ utility fees. A single-family home pays $3.13 per month, for example. 

In exchange, everyone who lives in Corvallis rides for free. In the first year after transitioning to a fareless system, Corvallis Transit System saw a 37.9% increase in ridership, the city of Corvallis website says.

The Transportation Committee members have been raising awareness about Transit Tomorrow to mobilize their fellow citizens. Their efforts include posting flyers at bus stops that are set to be removed, circulating a petition urging people to “stand up for your bus access” that had nearly 3,000 signatures as of March 26 and a guest column by committee member Jess Roshak in the Register-Guard.

Outside of Southeast Neighbors, other Eugeneans are getting involved as well. LTD recently uploaded over 700 comments community members across Eugene have submitted on Transit Tomorrow. Some comments are supportive, but many decry the proposed changes. One comment from the Eugene Neighborhood Forum read, “Changes proposed in LTD’s Transit Tomorrow are potentially disastrous.”

RELATED: City Council candidate holds press conference to raise awareness about proposed LTD changes

One common complaint among Transit Tomorrow’s opponents is that LTD didn’t do enough outreach before accepting the greater frequency/less coverage trade off. LTD’s outreach efforts included tabling at several Eugene/Springfield locations, social media posts and a community open house. 

A March 2019 outreach summary said that LTD had reached over 60,000 people. However, those numbers include a Facebook event that reached 3,700 people but only solicited 15 RSVPs and a video that was viewed by fewer than 20% of those it reached.

In response to complaints that LTD’s outreach was insufficient, LTD Assistant General Manager Mark Johnson said, “Did we go door-knocking to every neighbor in South Eugene? No. But we did talk to bus riders in South Eugene.”

The current Transit Tomorrow proposal is still subject to revision. LTD was scheduled to present an updated proposal at a March 18 meeting that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When that proposal becomes available, Roshak said she hopes that LTD will be open for a “truly public” discussion. 

She advocates for LTD to educate the public and solicit input from as many bus riders as possible, who could indicate their preference for the present LTD system or either of the two Transit Tomorrow proposals. “They’re not letting the public and the community help them design a system for us,” Roshak said. “They think they know better.”

LTD’s next board of directors meeting is scheduled for April 15 at the Downtown Athletic Club from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., though the schedule may change as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The LTD schedule is available on the Transit Tomorrow website.
LTD will hear public comments through May, with a public hearing on May 20. The Board will make a final decision on Transit Tomorrow on June 17.