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City Ponders Expanding E-Tran: A Boost in Transit Funding Offers Elk Grove a Chance to Add Runs to College.

Posted on: Thursday, 16 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Loretta Kalb, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Mar. 16--Elk Grove e-tran riders who attend night classes at Cosumnes River College soon could have more options for getting to and from the campus.

A little-noted jump in Local Transportation Funds, generated by retail sales, will bump the proceeds available for Elk Grove's transportation needs by about 23 percent in the budget year starting July 1.

This could mean three more nighttime runs from Cosumnes River College to Elk Grove via Route 49, among other changes, says John Andoh, assistant to the transit manager Tuesday.

The jump in funds for Elk Grove is the largest of any city in Sacramento County, according to data from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.

The transportation funds, equal to a one-quarter percent share of sales tax revenues, are authorized under the state Transportation Development Act and are administered locally by SACOG.

In the next fiscal year, the fund is expected to reach $76.8 million for Sacramento, Yolo, Yuba and Sutter counties, according to SACOG. The gain averages 14.3 percent for those four counties.

But because Elk Grove's population is growing more quickly that many other jurisdictions, the city is in line to receive a 22.5 percent jump in its transportation funds for 2006-07, or $5.4 million.

Elk Grove Transit Director Carlos Tobar said, at a March 7 SACOG workshop on unmet transit needs, that added night and weekend e-tran runs are among possibilities for using the funds.

The additional Cosumnes River College runs would mean trips to the college at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., six days a week. E-tran already operates one evening trip to the college between 6 and 7 p.m. weekdays.

Elk Grove budget manager Michael McGrane said changes in e-tran routes require some certainty that they can be sustained in future years.

"We've added a lot of services already," McGrane said, "so we have to do a lot of checking."

Increases in the Local Transportation Fund also mean more money for other municipalities. Citrus Heights is up 10.6 percent to $3.9 million. Folsom is up 14 percent to $3 million. Galt is up 13.9 percent to $1 million. The city of Sacramento is up 12.9 percent to $20.2 million, and the unincorporated area of Sacramento County is up 15.2 percent to $25 million.

Rancho Cordova, incorporated in 2003, is the only city in Sacramento County to face a decline in transportation funds for 2006-07.

SACOG officials said a recent state Department of Finance calculation of the city's population proved to be lower than the formula used to allocate last year's funds.

Funds to Rancho Cordova for the next fiscal year will be down 18 percent to $2.5 million.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Sacramento Bee

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