When I became a contributor to Jessica's Well way back in August of 2006, the invitation was based on several factors, but first my first big look at local government was EZ-Rider.

I'm past doing the annual analysis of the ridership and the costs per passenger. I think everybody who has read this blog for some time knows EZRider exists because of the Federal dollars that have historically funded more than half of the operating costs of our bus system.

Well, on February 16, 2010, the Federal Transit Administration posted their FY 2010 Section 5307 and Section 5340 Urbanized Area Apportionments, and Midland/Odessa will be receiving $1,228,874 from the Feds this year. Our share is a pittance compared to the $1.87 Billion allocated nationwide (most of which goes to the large metros).

Under the program that EZRider receives their funds, the federal share is not supposed to exceed 50%. The State kicks some money in, but with the budget shortfall projected in Austin, that may go down.

In the end, prepare for more discussion between Midland and Odessa regarding their obligations this year. That $300~$400k sure would fill in a lot of sales tax revenue holes.