By James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Butler and Clermont counties could lose their popular express public bus connections to downtown Cincinnati if a deal isn't worked out between the transit authorities in those areas and Hamilton County's bus service, Metro officials said Thursday.

Metro, which operates express routes to three adjoining counties, says the 2000 Census showed population shifts that put Butler and Clermont counties into the region's "urban" zone.

NEW METRO CONTRACT

Metro and the union that represents 800 of its 971 employees Thursday tentatively agreed on a new contract, with both sides saying they were satisfied with the deal. Terms were not disclosed. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 627 plans to present the new terms to its members for a vote on Sunday.

That means that those counties are eligible for federal transit funding that was previously split only between Metro and TANK, Northern Kentucky's bus service.

Metro general manager and chief executive officer Paul Jablonski said estimates call for a $2.2 million shortfall in the agency's budget, expected to be about $72.9 million for 2003.

He said that while he might be able to whittle away $700,000 in operational overhead, and that the agency's first fare increase in 10 years is being considered, there will still be a major gap, and that the Butler and Clermont lines would probably be the first to go.

The Eastgate express between Union Township and downtown and the routes to West Chester and Fairfield to downtown had been paying for themselves, as required by Metro's charter, but the routes were contingent upon contributions from local jurisdictions.

Lines to Amelia, Loveland and Milford were not required to break even.

Metro officials say they have been charging those local jurisdictions less than what it costs to operate the services, primarily because of the presence of federal funds.

Marie McCain and Steve Kemme contributed.

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com