ATLANTA (April 15, 2010) – C-TRAN riders won a victory when a bill to fund Clayton County’s public transportation system passed out of a key Senate committee. Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) urged members of the Senate Finance Committee to pass House Bill 1393 to give voters in Clayton County the ability to resurrect C-TRAN service.
“Once the funding ended for C-TRAN and the buses stopped running, 2.5 million riders were left stranded without a way to get to work, school, their doctor, or even to buy groceries,” said Jones. “After being stripped of a necessary public service, this bill puts the power back in the hands of Clayton citizens to decide how to fund a transportation system that truly belongs to them.”
HB 1393 raises the cap that counties can levy on sales taxes to allow Clayton County citizens to vote on an additional 1 percent sales tax to fund public transportation. The bill also extends the exemption from motor fuel taxes for public transit systems for another two years.
C-TRAN service ended on March 31 after Clayton County commissioners voted to shutter the system due to a lack of funding. Since C-TRAN’s end, three Xpress buses have been running through the county, but are not enough to serve the hundreds of riders who depended on C-TRAN every day. There are 400 riders alone who depend on C-TRAN’s paratransit buses to get to their doctor, many of whom are dialysis patients and need treatment every day.
Jones is shepherding the bill through the Senate, which has been authored by Rep. Roberta Abdul-Salaam (D-Riverdale) in the House of Representatives. As chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, Jones has been a champion for C-TRAN riders and has been working to find alternative funding solutions.
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Sen. Emanuel Jones represents the 10th Senate District, which includes portions of DeKalb and Henry counties. He may be reached at 404.656.0502 or via e-mail at emanuel.jones@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
April 15, 2010
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber, Director
Kallarin Richards, Senior Communications Specialist
kallarin.richards@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028