An alert citizen sent word to me the other day that he saw a Sun Metro bus in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
He was upset with the fact that El Paso taxpayers are paying the bill for Sun Metro and here we are giving service to people from another city in another state.
Of the $67 million that Sun Metro is budgeted to cost us in fiscal year (FY) 2015, $40 million will come from a portion of our local sales tax revenue. He was right in that any money not spent on Sun Metro could be spent on other city needs.
By the way, of the $22 million that they report as service fees, $11 million is a federal transportation administration grant. In other words our $66 million bus system collects $11 million from passengers.
I looked into the issue to see if we are in fact running buses out of town.
To my surprise I learned that we operate:
Route 83–NM Sunland Park via McNutt
Route 84–EPCC Mission del Paso via Clint & Socorro
County Route 10–Anthony/Canutillo
County Route 20–Montana Vista
County Route 30–Horizon City
County Route 40–Fabens/Tornillo
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Transportation projects and services are planned at a regional level…a requirement for Federal funding. MPO coordinates. Just as our highways do not stop at borders, neither should our transit.
LikeLike
So if not at the state line, where exactly should “our” El Paso transit burden and responsibility stop? California? New York?
Your logic suggests that we should also provide bus service to Midland and Odessa. I thought that was why private bus lines and airlines exist.
Also, if I use your reasoning, why shouldn’t Sunland Park and the state of New Mexico pay to transport their people to El Paso instead of us footing the bill.
It’s really quite simple. We’re subsidizing El Paso retailers and the Sunland Park Casino and Racetrack. Sun Metro actually promotes its service to and from the casino, which means we’re actually making it easy for consumer dollars to leave El Paso for the worst possible purposes.
Click to access route83.pdf
LikeLike
Read MPO budget. New Mexico and Feds fund “their share”…that is part of the intent of metro area planning.
LikeLike
Good to know. Thanks for the suggestion.
LikeLike
I once read that over 40 percent of Sunland Park Mall shoppers are from Juarez. So all of their sales tax gets returned to them. As well as 70 percent of the Outlets, and 45 percent of the Cielo Vista Mall. So who covers the rest….
LikeLike
I have written about this previously. El Paso residents are paying high taxes to support an infrastructure that caters largely to Mexican residents who pay little or nothing for using our streets and services and health care facilities. We’re subsidizing Mexican residents, Fort Bliss, developers, and large businesses. Every time you turn around, city council is giving away another basket of tax breaks under the guise of economic development and job creation. It’s just a matter of time before the house of cards falls. Most of the people responsible for creating this mess will have moved on to greener pastures or beachfront property.
LikeLike
So we should charge admission from Juarez to El Paso?
Maybe have a lottery? 1st prize one-day free admission to El Paso; 2nd prize a week.
Everyone wants to come here if you believe the CVB.
LikeLike
Since the Juarez shoppers, just like shoppers from Midland, Odessa, Las Cruces, etc. are protected by the El Paso City Police, Fire Department and drive on El Paso roads, use El Paso utilities, city parks and services while here, THEY (Juarez shoppers) SHOULD NOT get the Texas Sales Tax back.
They have CONSUMED El Paso services and those services are on standby 24-7.
LikeLike
By the way. . . . Some of the Juarez licence plate cars, those people LIVE in El Paso.
Maybe they USED to live in Juarez but we’ve seen tens of thousands from Juarez MOVE to El Paso during the violent times in Juarez the past 10 years or so.
They should NOT be given any Texas Sales Tax back,
just because they still have a Juarez Drivers License or a Mexico Passport.
The stuff they are buying never leaves town.
LikeLike
I’ve been talking about this for years and no one cared. So get ready for a complete collapse of Sun Metro because they are operating on borrowed time and money. The Trolley is the Death Knell for Sun Metro.
LikeLike