Cornell Throws TCAT Under the Bus

At a meeting of the University Assembly last Tuesday, President Pollack and Vice President for Media Relations Joel Malina addressed the “perennial issue” of transportation: specifically, TCAT.

As many students have surely noticed, TCAT has cut service throughout the year. Even the mainsail Route 30 through Cornell’s campus from downtown to the Ithaca Mall has been reduced in frequency. Lesser-populated areas have seen already infrequent service decline even further.

The source of TCAT’s troubles is a point of endless local debate, but the transit authority blames “staff shortages and supply chain challenges.” Many across the county, however, blame Cornell. Earlier this year, Cornell’s administration was the subject of criticism for refusing an eight percent increase in its contribution to the service.

TCAT, the Tompkins County Area Transit corporation, is funded by three underwriters: the City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, and Cornell University, in addition to fares and assistance from the New York state government.

Under the contract signed between the three underwriters and TCAT, “The City, County and Cornell agree to pay equal annual contributions” to keep the service running. However, Cornell pays significantly more than merely its equal contribution– $3.3 million more. Because of its fare-free travel policy for freshmen and discounted omni ride passes for other students and faculty, Cornell reimburses TCAT with a more than $3 million lump payment each year.

In addition to the $994,574 required for each of the three underwriters, Cornell contributes more than $4 million to TCAT every year, or about 22% of TCAT’s total operating budget.

The university is apparently “not content” with the service TCAT has provided recently, said Joel Malina. At a meeting of the University Assembly last week, Pollack and Malina took turns shoving TCAT under the bus.

The UA requested that Pollack speak on the dire parking shortage at Cornell, and in doing so, she pivoted to the transit authority: “we know there are people who would prefer not to drive, they prefer to take the buses, but they have been discouraged because of ongoing service issues with TCAT.”

Perhaps responding to criticism of stinginess from Cornell—including frequent references to the university’s $10 billion endowment in local newspapers—Pollack deflected attention from the administration:

TCAT has been dealing with an acute shortage of bus drivers and mechanics. And that’s what has affected their ability to maintain their full route schedule. This is the case despite the fact that they really are [in a] solid financial position, they project a surplus of $3.1 million for the current financial year…

Malina was more direct with his criticisms, stating that Cornell is “paying for a service, and that service needs to be a service that our community benefits from.” Echoing student and community concerns, Malina stated the university is “not content with the service interruptions [and] changes to the routes.”

Malina rather quickly invoked the more than $4 million contributed by Cornell to the transit authority, saying “we’re gonna want some very strong assurances before we extend” the current lump sum payment system. Though he quickly followed up by saying Cornell will extend its agreement, the message was clear: TCAT needs to repair itself.

The university’s messaging on TCAT was confused even in this one UA meeting. Pollack, in between tacit threats of Cornell’s large contribution, praised TCAT’s contributions to the Cornell community. “Public transportation is very important to Cornell. It’s important to the faculty and staff and students who use it. It also reduces our traffic on campus, it frees up parking spaces.”

TCAT is not alone in its inflation woes. Pollack, in this very UA meeting, admitted that Cornell ”can’t increase the budget for salaries to fully match the rate of inflation.” Meanwhile, the City of Ithaca is perennially cash-strapped due to Cornell’s tax exempt status. Cornell owns “56 percent of the real estate value … [which is] not subjected to property tax.” Cornell only pays about $96,000 in Ithaca City taxes and contributes $1.5 million as reimbursement for services Ithaca provides.

The question, then, is which local authority will  pay to fix TCAT–Cornell, Ithaca, or Tompkins County. Cornell, according to Pollack, already provides 70% of the local funding–22% of overall funding–TCAT receives. However, Cornell will not help beyond its current obligations. The administration expects TCAT to use its savings to improve service and survive “through these uncertain times,” as Malina wrote in an email obtained by the Ithaca Voice.

Pollack is “cautiously optimistic” that a new labor contract between management, drivers, and mechanics, “is going to help them resolve their staffing issues and thus improve their service.”

Correction: a previous version of this article stated that Cornell owns 60% of the City of Ithaca’s land. In actuality, Cornell owns 56% of the real estate value in the City. 60% is the total percentage of tax-exempt land in the City of Ithaca, of which Cornell is the largest owner.