BETHEL — The city of Bethel may put an end to its public transportation system due to low ridership and high expenses.
KYUK-AM reported officials are conducting a termination study to determine if a closure would cost the city money in employee retirement benefits.
Funding for Bethel’s transportation system has dwindled in recent years. The Orutsararmuit Native Council previously had covered some of the bus costs through a partnership with the city, but that funding has decreased.
Acting City Manager Pete Williams said at a recent City Council meeting that the transportation system isn’t generating much revenue for Bethel.
“You should have some expenditures showing, and you should have some revenue showing, and all I see is expenditures,” he said.
Williams said he’s deciding on whether to accept more grants to support bus costs, which the city would have to match, or to shut the system down entirely.
But ending public transportation in the area is a concern for Megan Zickl, who works at the domestic violence shelter, Tundra Women’s Coalition. Women who come to the shelter rely on the buses not only to get around, but to escape in the event of a domestic violence situation, she said.
“Domestic violence obviously has everything to do with control over another person. So when someone is finally able to get out of that controlling relationship and be in a place where they can now control their situation and their life choices, that’s very empowering. The bus system plays into that to the extent that women can choose to go places they need to go without relying on somebody else,” Zickl said.
It is unclear how long the city will take to decide the future of the bus system. But John Sargent, Bethel’s grant writer who helped get the bus system into operation, said the decision shouldn’t weigh entirely on money, because cities across the state are experiencing the same problems.
“It doesn’t make revenue; there’s no bus system in Alaska that makes money. They all run on a cost basis,” Sargent said.
