The fate of public transit is a current topic in local government as agencies consider budgets affected by current economic downturn. Concerns on the topic were discussed during a joint meeting on June 20th between Uintah County, Vernal City and Naples City. According to the meeting minutes, Uintah County Commissioners expressed concern that with the drop in mineral lease funds, the transit system may have to be dropped due to high cost compared to ridership. It was stated that the Vernal BTA loop costs $240,000 dollars a year and the group brainstormed ideas for alternative funding or ways to make the bus service more feasible. No official decisions were made in that meeting and the topic has been ongoing since, soliciting some attention from the public. Vernal City Mayor Sonja Norton says the next step is setting up a meeting with all parties involved throughout the Basin to “lay everything on the table, make a plan and move forward.” Budget cuts have been a focus of all Basin government entities over the last year and have led to the reconsideration of public services, costs and potential cuts of programs, such as Basin transit in this case.
