By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

Twin Cities bus operators should get their past due federal aid by March, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.

Blame shifting federal requirements for the delay, said Barbara Donovan, manager of MDOT’s transportation programming office.

“Now that the legislation is in place, we don’t anticipate this problem again until at least 2010,” she said.

The Lewiston Auburn Transit Committee was due to receive about $627,000 from the Federal Transit Authority in 2005 to help pay for operating Citylink, the Twin Cities bus system. The FTA money is distributed to the local bus system and other similar Maine agencies by MDOT.

The transit committee pays Western Maine Transportation $748,000 annually to operate the system. Rider revenues pay for about $81,000 of that budget, and government dollars, especially the FTA grants, make up the rest.

Donovan blamed much of the delay on the U.S. Congress’ rewritten budget, which was adopted late in 2005. That budget included a rewritten authorization for transit dollars, with new requirements on the application process.

Donovan checked with the FTA throughout the year for updates on the process. Each time, she was assured that funding authorization was right around the corner and told to wait to file Maine’s request for money. That was a mistake, she said.

“In hindsight, we should have applied for them to release part of that money right away,” she said. “If I had it to do all over again, I would apply for whatever was available and change it later if that was necessary.”

New rules didn’t make it easier to get the money, once the budget had passed. It included new rules for writing an application, including a new format for documenting how well the state has complied with federal civil rights requirements. Donovan said the Department of Labor has signed off most of Maine’s application, but has another 30 days to review the funding request.

“If they finish up and approve everything in less than 30 days, that’ll speed everything up,” she said. “But we’re not the only state in this situation, so we have to assume they are a little swamped at this point.”

The good news for the local bus company is an increase in the annual FTA funding. The Twin Cities bus system can expect $897,871 in 2006. Donovan said local bus officials should get that money in March, about the same time they get the 2005 allocation.

“The good thing is that now we’ve worked through the process and the application, and shouldn’t have to go through this again,” she said.

Phil Nadeau, chair of the local transit committee, said the group is looking for ways to get access to the FTA money directly, not through the state.

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