SORTA seeks tax to fund transit plan

The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) will seek a 1/2-cent sales tax in Hamilton County to fund the Hamilton County portion of the MetroMoves regional transit plan in November 2002. The final plan for MetroMoves redesigns Metro from a city-based bus system to a regional transit system that includes both bus and rail service. Federal and state funding will be sought to pay the majority of the cost to build the system, which includes five light rail lines, 30 bus transit hubs, 13 neighborhood shuttles and 11 new crosstown and cross-regional bus routes. The 1/2-cent Hamilton County sales tax would fund the local portion (10% of cost for bus and 25% of cost for rail) needed to build and operate the light rail/streetcar system in Hamilton County and the expanded bus service. Capital costs for the expanded bus plan total $112 million, with a $2.5 billion total cost for the light rail and streetcar system.