By Steve Morris

The fate of the Rush Line Commuter Bus Service may hinge on the upcoming legislative session which starts Feb. 12.

At the session, legislatures will be asked to decide how much money, if any, will go toward funding the commuter bus service starting at the County Road 17 park and ride in Stacy to downtown St. Paul.

The task force is requesting $1 million in bonding to pay for park and rides and bus facilities and more than $700,000 in state operating funds, which would be used to operate and lease the buses. Alicia Vap, staff of the Rush Line Task Force, said the money would cover an 18-month period and if the state doesn't pass the request, it may put the commuter bus service in jeopardy.

"It's to pay for the package the Task Force has already accepted," Vap said.

State Representative Jeremy Kalin said if the state decided not to fund the project, the task force could seek funding from participating counties along the line, likely by raising property taxes.

Kalin supports the Rush Line Project and said he is willing to carry the bill if need be.

"I have talked with the chair of the bonding committee and the chair of transportation committee and they are both supportive of Rush Line," he said.

If the state funds the project, the commuter bus service could be operational in July.

The magnitude of the upcoming session was on the minds of task force members during their meeting Jan. 10 at the White Bear Lake City Hall.

"What I am learning from the legislatures is that this is going to be a tough, quick process," task force chairwoman and Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt said.

Reinhardt told task force members to speak with their representatives so they are briefed on the task force's agenda.

"There is pent up demand for getting commuter bus on the east metro," she said.

As it stands now, the proposed bus service will run eight times daily (four in the morning and four in evening) from the park and ride on County Road 17 south of North Branch to downtown St. Paul with stops in Forest Lake and White Bear Lake/Vadnais Heights (exact location of stops is yet to be determined for White Bear Lake/Vadnais Heights.)

The Rush Line Corridor was originally planned to run to downtown Minneapolis, but Hennepin County decided not to fund the project. As a result, the proposed service will go to St. Paul only. The bus service is designed as a pre-cursor to light rail, which is the task force's end goal.

From North Branch, the estimated cost per ride is $4.50 one way. From Forest Lake, the price drops to $3.50 and from White Bear Lake it's $2.75.

SRF Consulting Inc., was hired by the task force to study the project. They estimated ridership between 340 to 400 riders daily.

Several transportation projects are seeking funding from the state, all competing for a piece of the financial pie. The Rush Line Commuter Bus Service, the Central Corridor Project and the North Star Commuter rail are three examples.

Kalin summed up the situation.

"It's a limited pot of money."

In other Rush Line Task Force news, the task force:

• Approved to request $5 million in operating costs in federal funds for the 2009 fiscal year. If approved, the money would go toward improvements along the corridor for the commuter bus service.

• Elected Reinhardt to a one-year term as chairwoman of the task force.

• Elected Ben Montzka to a one-year term as vice chair of the task force.

• Scheduled the next task force meeting for March 20.

• Reviewed significant accomplishments from the previous year.