[Baltimore Sun] Funding for Carroll’s transit system to be discussed Thursday
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The Carroll Transit System will present preliminary operating revenue and expense data for fiscal 2025 to the Board of Carroll County Commissioners on Thursday.
As the primary provider of mass transportation in the county, the system’s projected operating budget for fiscal 2025, which starts July 1, is estimated at $2,934,264.97, up from 2,906,378.80 this year, according to a county briefing document.
Staff from the county’s Department of Management and Budget and the Department of Public Works will present the projected numbers to commissioners at their weekly business meeting.
The Carroll Transit System receives funding from the county as well as the Federal Transit Administration, the Maryland Transit Administration, and from fares collected from riders. Staff will also ask commissioners to accept grant funding from the federal and state transit administrations.
The transit system’s preliminary operating budget shows $425,946 in revenue coming from the Federal Transit Administration in fiscal 2025, the same amount the system received in the current fiscal year. The operating budget shows $321,442 in revenue coming from the Maryland Transit Administration in fiscal 2025, also the same amount the system received this year.
Revenue from fares is projected to increase slightly, from $350,000 in the current fiscal year, to $400,000 next year.
The system is also projecting a $758,035 capital budget for fiscal 2025. Of that, $606,429 will come from the Federal Transit Administration, $75,803 from the Maryland Transit Administration and another $75,803 from the county.
The Carroll Transit System provides a few different services and schedules for county residents. The TrailBlazer includes fixed routes that operate on a set schedule to connect Westminster, Taneytown and North Carroll. There are nine blue vehicles that operate on a regular schedule with specific stops, and no reservation is needed.
Demand Response (door-to-door) service operates Monday through Friday, and accounts for 78% of the rides provided by the system. Riders are transported daily throughout the county with an average trip length of 6.9 miles. Riders are primarily elderly and/or disabled and use Demand Response for medical, employment, social service and general-purpose trips.
In fiscal 2023, the system’s TrailBlazer routes and Demand Response provided about 100,000 passenger trips, and officials are projecting that to increase this fiscal year.
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., Thursday, in Room 311 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., in Westminster. It will be live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/@CarrollCountyGov. Anyone can make public comment at the meeting, in person or online. Those wishing to attend online should call 872-240-3212 and enter access code 317-923-893 to join the meeting.
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