(The following story by Robert M. Cook appeared on the Foster’s Daily Democrat website on May 1.)
DOVER, N.H. — Regional planners, municipal and railroad officials kicked around several ideas Wednesday to help the Downeaster train develop new revenue streams to make up for an anticipated $8 million shortfall in 2009 when it the passenger rail line loses its federal subsidy.
Some of those ideas ranged from requesting money from the New Hampshire Legislature and implementing county transit taxes to changing the state constitution to devote a portion of gas taxes which motorists pay at the pump to all intermodal transportation.
Steve Pesci, project manager for the University of New Hampshire Campus Planning office, suggested the New Hampshire Constitution needs to be amended so that a portion of gas tax revenue could be diverted away from the state’s road and bridges to rail and bus transit services.
“What about the counties? The counties have taxing power. Maybe we should be looking at a county intermodal transit tax,” Pesci said.
All of the counties in Maine and New Hampshire through which the Downeaster travels from Portland to Plaistow could be asked to implement the proposed tax to help the train erase the projected shortfall.
The Strafford Regional Planning Commission held a three-hour bistate transportation meeting Wednesday at Dover City Hall auditorium. The meeting occurred at a time when the Downeaster is seeing record levels of passengers because of high gasoline prices that are currently around $3.50 per gallon.
Pesci also suggested that all of the communities that host train stations could collect the same local option fee that Dover, Exeter and Durham charge when people pay for their vehicle registrations. He said the money could be pooled and used to leverage any available federal grants to keep the Downeaster going.
Russ Dean, Exeter’s town manager, suggested a 50-cent charge be added to QuikTrac ticket machines at New Hampshire’s three stations in Dover, Durham and Exeter. He said the money raised could go to each municipality and be used to make necessary station area improvements and cover maintenance costs.
Dean also suggested that it would be a good idea for the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority in Portland, which manages the Downeaster, to make lawmakers in New Hampshire and Maine understand that each state may need to come up with at least $3 million to keep the train running.
Patricia Quinn, the authority’s executive director, said the number will actually be closer to $10 million by 2009. She said more pressure needs to be put on New Hampshire lawmakers to get the state to contribute more money toward the train.
“It would go a long way with those legislators in Augusta to say that there is some support from New Hampshire,” Quinn said.
Since the Downeaster began service on December 15, 2001, New Hampshire has funded $1.6 million to help carry out railway improvements to help the Downeaster field a fifth train, Quinn explained. Maine has provided much more funding and support and the issue continues to be pretty contentious between the two states.
New Hampshire Department of Transportation planner Kit Morgan said the state recognizes it needs to do more to promote train travel and other forms of intermodal transportation because “the demand is growing with the price of gas.”
“Unfortunately, there is no money to cover the operating cost,” Morgan said.
Steve Williams, vice chairman of the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority, a group that was created in June by the state Legislature, said they are very supportive of the Downeaster. He said the authority is also working with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston to extend the MBTA commuter rail to Nashua and Manchester along what he called the “Capital Corridor.”
Quinn explained new funding sources are needed because the Downeaster generates $6.1 million in revenue toward its annual budget of $13.6 million. Although total ridership is projected to increase this year to more than 2 million people and revenues are projected to increase another $5.5 million — which amounts to 21 percent increase in both areas — it will not be enough to make up for $8 million in federal subsidy money the train now receives.
Meanwhile, the Downeaster is generating some economic development projects. For example, Saco, Maine, officials are in the process of building a $80 million commercial and residential development near its train station, Quinn said. She added that Old Orchard Beach developers constructed a $22 million grand Victorian hotel last year.
By the year 2030, Quinn said the Downeaster could generate $72 million in annual revenue for Maine and save $152 million in transportation costs in New Hampshire.
Meanwhile, plans are moving forward to expand the Downeaster’s passenger service to Brunswick and Rockland, Maine, Quinn said.
But without additional funding to replace the federal subsidy that will be lost in 2009, she said the Downeaster could be forced to shut down.
Steve Klein, owner of Mermaid Transportation in Scarborough, Maine, suggested the Downeaster partner with a credit card company to offer credit cards displaying the train along with discounts on various goods and services. He said 1 percent of every charge made could go to the Downeaster.
Another idea included asking employers located close to train stations along the 78-mile corridor between Portland, Maine and Plaistow to offer employees eco-passes if they use the train and public transportation to get to and from work.
Scott Bogle, a member of the Rockingham Planning Commission in Brentwood, said such a system is used in Boulder and Denver, Colo.