Green Mountain Transit announced a draft plan Wednesday to reduce services after identifying a $3 million gap between their expected revenue and expenses for the 2026 fiscal year.
The transit provider would roll out the proposed cuts in three phases beginning in November, and would make significant changes to commuter lines, as well as weekend and evening services.
More from Vermont Public: Green Mountain Transit brings back fares as financial uncertainty looms
Clayton Clark, Green Mountain Transit's general manager, said dwindling COVID relief funds have had a significant effect on their financial standing.
"We're going to exhaust those COVID relief funds sometime in 2025," Clark said. "This means, like the other transit agencies in the country, we're going to have to go through a process of either downsizing, coming up with new funding methodologies or a combination of the two."
Clark said the plan is borne out of necessity, not a desire to cut services.
"And so when I say, 'Hey, you know, these routes, you know, move less people than some of our other routes, and therefore we're thinking about potentially cutting them,' For the people that use that service, it's critical to their daily life."
Green Mountain Transit will hold five public hearings on the matter over the next two months.
Have questions, comments, or tips? Send us a message.
