RTC defends proposal to cut CAT system fine

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 | 10:57 a.m.

Regional Transportation Commission board members lined up to defend a proposal to trim thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars from the potential fine against the operator of the Citizens Area Transit system.

Bruce Woodbury, RTC board chairman and Clark County commissioner, said last week that the fine for the bus system's operating company would be set at $450,000, enough to pay for new bus passes for regular riders but probably well short of what the company could be charged.

The contract with operator ATC calls for fines whenever buses are late or bus runs are missed altogether, a frequent occurrence during a contentious five-week bus strike that ended two weeks ago.

The exact amount of the potential fines has not been released by the RTC, but is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

RTC General Manager Jacob Snow said the fines could put ATC out of business in Las Vegas -- a prospect that would have negative consequences for everyone, he said.

Snow said the agency wants to keep ATC serving the public, the drivers and their union working and riders being served by a private company, which allows the agency to stretch its dollars for the maximum service area.

Actually imposing the fines would not be easy, Snow said. The company could appeal fines to the courts, making it a difficult process to actually collect the money.

The company did not return phone calls for comment.

RTC board member and Boulder City Councilman Bryan Nix said the $450,000 fine is appropriate because it compensates those who were hurt the most during the strike -- regular riders.

"The riders are the truly damaged ones," he said. "They should be reimbursed. This shouldn't be used to enrich the RTC or bankrupt ATC."

Larry Brown, Las Vegas City Councilman and RTC board member, agreed.

"We need to work forward in a positive way," he said. "Let's find a way to reinvest into the system."

The $450,000, he said, "is the most equitable. ... This is a focused reinvestment for the ridership."

Not everyone was as happy to hear that much of the damages will be waived.

Tom Collins, a North Las Vegas assemblyman and a former chairman of the RTC Citizens Advisory Committee, said if the agency does not recover the fines it could claim from the company, voters should not approve a proposed $2.7 billion package of transportation taxes this fall.

Collins walked the picket lines with bus drivers during the strike. The drivers' rank-and-file -- although not the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represented them -- are unhappy that the fines may be waived.

"It's a lot better for the company than the workers, who are being screwed," Collins said. "Maybe we don't need the RTC anymore. ... I have a lot of respect for the RTC, but if they're expecting a big tax increase without recovering fines from the company, they should think again."

Collins also said a proposal to extend the contract between the agency and operating company should be rejected because it would give the ATC another "win" at the expense of drivers.

RTC spokeswoman Ingrid Reisman said the company and her agency have discussed extending the contract in place, but those extension talks were put on hold because of the labor trouble.

"The strike made no difference as to whether we will or will not grant them an extension," she said.

ATC's contract technically expires in December 2003, but the RTC has an option to automatically extend the contract by one year, Reisman said. The company has requested an extension beyond December 2004.

But Collins said that should not happen.

"This is a company that has caused harm to the citizens in this community, not only the riders but those who drive them to work," he said. "They shouldn't be doing business here."

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