Green Mountain Transit buses drive down Main Street in Burlington on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Green Mountain Transit Board of Commissioners approved a slate of changes to the bus service on Tuesday effective December 2. The decision will eliminate a commuter route between Jeffersonville and Burlington and reduce or eliminate weekend service, with additional significant service cuts likely still to come.The board was following through on a proposal made by the transit provider’s management at its August 2024 meeting to cut at least 25% of its local and regional bus services. GMT aims to save up to $3 million, which it said would help close a projected gap in its operating budget.GMT surveyed riders earlier this summer, which is still available online for riders to complete, on what service they want to preserve and what service would potentially be more acceptable for reduction.READ MORE “What we heard was that there would be a preference for weekday service over weekend service and a preference for local service over commuter service,” said Clayton Clark, the general manager of Green Mountain Transit.The first phase of service reductions includes the elimination of all four runs of the #36 Jeffersonville Commuter, a route that runs between Jeffersonville and Burlington. According to Green Mountain Transit, the Jeffersonville Commuter route has the highest cost per passenger of all routes in the service area, with each trip costing $63.18.GMT officials explored options to reduce expenses for the route, halving the daily trips from four to two. That approach was determined to be too costly, however, according to Clark. He said members of the Vermont Agency of Transportation will be riding the Jeffersonville commuter to talk to the people that currently use the route, starting tomorrow. “They’ll be talking to the riders about different transit options that they support, which includes vanpools and carpools,” Clark said.Clayton Clark, general manager for Green Mountain Transit, discusses proposed cuts to services to deal with a three million dollar budgetary shortfall during a press conference in Burlington on Tuesday, August 28, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe remaining service changes focus on Saturday operations, aiming to cut costs by cutting down on weekend overtime for drivers. “A higher proportion of the drivers are working on overtime on Saturday than during other days so our labor cost on Saturday is higher,” said Clark. “So in addition to it being lower ridership, it’s also higher cost.”At the Tuesday meeting, the board also approved an increase to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) fares in Chittenden County. The fares will rise from $3.00 to $4.00, with the change slated to take effect on January 1, 2025. Local transit officials estimate that a proposed fare increase for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) services could generate an additional $40,000 in revenue, assuming ridership demand remains.During the next two meetings, held on the third Tuesday every month, the board will decide on possible service reductions regarding the link between Montpelier and Burlington.“I anticipate that there will be a reduction in the number of runs between Montpelier and Burlington that will be effective in late February or March,” said Clark.Reductions• Reduction of the #5 Pine Street on Saturdays to service every 60 minutes • Reduction of the #8 City Loop on Saturdays to service every 60 minutes. This includes an adjustment to serve both McCauley Square and Fern Hill Bus Stops on the Saturday runs. Eliminations• Elimination of all 4 runs of the #36 Jeffersonville Commuter • Elimination of Saturday Service on the #10 Williston/ Essex • Elimination of the #3 Lakeside Commuter that is replaced with an additional morning inbound run on the #5 Pine Street that allows passengers to connect with service that departs the Downtown Transit Center at 6:20 a.m.• Eliminate the following runs that depart the Downtown Transit Center on the #6 Shelburne on Saturdays: 6:30 p.m., 9:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.• Eliminate the following runs that depart the Downtown Transit Center on the #7 North Ave on Saturdays: 6:30 p.m., 9:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. • Eliminate the following runs that depart the Downtown Transit Center on the #9 Winooski: 6:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m., 9:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. • Eliminate the following runs that depart the Downtown Transit Center on the #11 Airport: 6:45 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 9:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.Read the story on VTDigger here: Green Mountain Transit will start bus service cuts in December.