BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – If you ride the bus with Green Mountain Transit, you’ve probably already experienced service line reductions. GMT now says there are more coming.
The commuter bus from Montpelier is pulling into the downtown Burlington center. On it is state employee Marty Gilles.
“I have been taking the bus for about six years,” said Gilles.
It would be a total understatement to say Gilles appreciates the rides to work.
“Designing places, building places with the intention of incorporating public transit successfully. I think it’s really important for the overall well-being, not just economically, but also culturally in terms of morale and spirit and vibe,” said Gilles.
In fact, he’s so passionate about public transportation that he meets with Vermonters for People-Oriented Places, or VPOP, every month after work on Church Street.
During their meeting on Tuesday, eight members strategized around a table of snacks on how they could best advocate for walkers, bikers, and those who use public transit.
They say it’s too hard to get around in Chittenden County without a car. Last year, GMT cut 16% of its services. This year, GMT is recieving $100,000 less from the state than they thought they were going to. With the governor’s new budget, they’re running at a roughly $940,000 deficit.
“When we look at ’27, our budget is, you know, it’s not great, but it’s a drop that’s survivable,” said Clayton Clark with GMT.
What Clark is really worried about is fiscal year ’28. He says then, GMT will be running at a $2 million deficit. They will be required to cut over 20% more rides.
“Right now, we get $2 million a year from the federal government in performance awards. If that goes, if our ridership goes down, those competitive awards are probably going to go down as well. And then that could create a spiral where then we have to cut more service,” said Clark.
Gilles says those cuts could hurt Vermont’s culture.
“GMT cutting routes today sort of sets us up for struggles in that regard in the future,” said Gilles.
Clark says the only fix would be more funding from the feds, the state, or towns. Otherwise, more service cuts are inevitable.
VPOP members are going to a meeting on Wednesday to advocate for person-centered and bike-centered infrastructure on Burlington’s Main Street.
