It's no secret that the Macon Transit Authority has an aging fleet.
"Belts break, engines need to be overhauled, whatever we have to do to maintain them," says MTA President Craig Ross. "We just can't trade them in for a new model."
Not yet, at least. Ross says sixteen new buses will hit the streets starting later this year, even with recent questions surrounding their funding from the Bibb County government.
"The feds are coming up with a majority of the money, so they really don't care what happens on the local side other than if we're not funded for a period of time," he says.
Ross says the federal government already approved roughly $4.2 million for the buses, which amounts to about 80 percent of the total cost. The state picked up the tab for another 10 percent, and Bibb commissioners already approved about $422,000 in SPLOST funds to cover the remainder.
Though MTA could face a budget cut from Bibb commissioners this year, Ross says the money already approved must be used for the buses. He says it cannot be put toward operational costs.
Ross says raising bus fares would likely not help fill the gaps of any budget cuts. In June, Ross told 13WMAZ that fares only make up a small portion of MTA's budget.
For example, in 2017, MTA's cost of operating its fixed routes totaled almost $4.5 million. Around 750,000 people hopped on the buses in that same timeframe. That means it cost the MTA almost $6 per rider that year, compared to the $1.25 charge.
"The last time we raised fares was from a dollar to a dollar and a quarter and ridership dropped dramatically for one quarter," says Ross.
Ross told 13WMAZ in June that, instead, he wants to streamline the MTA's operations and routes and hopes to boost ridership.