Democratic Underground - that "highest in 30 years" ISM report has me

really wondering what that means. So for a comparison on "30 years" of doing business, here's a tale for you:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1675&dept_id=18171&newsid=11837752&PAG=461&rfi=9

Quick Silver funding cuts could spell layoffs at Delco transit agency

As funding continues to dwindle for a transportation program that operates unserved routes for many welfare-to-work recipients, Ursula Rinas looks at her fleet at Delaware County Transportation and wonders if she'll have to make the first
layoffs in the company's history.

Delaware County Transportation is the major provider of the Quick Silver service in Delaware County. Funded by the state Department of Public Welfare, it shuttles employees from Chester and Darby to employers, such as Fair Acres Geriatric Center in Middletown and UPS in Tinicum.

Local officials, however, wonder how much longer it will last as the state has cut funding for the fiscal year starting in July and plans for program elimination by next July.

And, while a minimum of 200 daily riders would be affected, the cuts would have a domino effect, as Rinas anxiously awaits.

"We've never had a layoff in our company history, which is close to 30 years," Delaware County Transportation's general manager said. "We've got jobs of our own to protect."

<snip>

Quick Silver is funded 35 percent by the employers that are drop-off sites and the rest by the state Department of Public Welfare. It carries 200 people a day over routes not served by SEPTA and during off-hours.

The routes go from Chester and Darby to UPS, Fair Acres Geriatric Center, the Sterling Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Media and Brinton Manor.

"We're the only option for these people," said Cecile Charlton, executive director of the Delaware County Transportation Management Agency. "You now have 200- some people who have literally no way to get to work if they don't have a car."

The TMA manages the service for the county, which has been presenting this for eight years. Charlton said they've asked the state for $225,000 to fund this year's portion. She's added that the TMA takes no administrative costs for this program because they want to provide as much service as they can as the state prepares to make severe cuts.

"The funding stands right now to be decreased by 30 percent," Stacey Ward, state Department of Public Welfare, said about this year's allotment.

By next year, she said, the source will be eliminated.

"It is truly frustrating for me," Charlton said. "We need the funding. These are people that are working. It's one of the projects that we do that we see absolute benefits from. Chester is coming back. You don't want to take people and just dump them."

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