Greater Richmond Transit Co. is facing a nearly $40 million budget shortfall beginning in 2030.
Why it matters: Richmond’s only public transit provider could have to cut service or delay expansion plans if it doesn’t turn around its financial situation.
State of play: GRTC’s “potential financial cliff,” as the agency describes it, was disclosed in documents shared at its Sept. 30 board retreat, and first reported by the Times-Dispatch.
- The shortfall is driven largely by the expiration of multiple short-term grants, the exhaustion of reserve funds as the grants run out and rising costs, especially labor, per the documents.
- The result: GRTC — which in 2020 became one of the first transit providers in the nation to adopt a zero-fare program — has to cut costs or bring in more revenue (or both), or it’ll be short $39.5 million.
Stunning stat: GRTC’s fixed-route costs are up 72% since 2018…