NY: Oneonta city bus operator talks maintaining service, paying for it

In its last meeting before the 2026 city budget talks commence next week, members of the Oneonta Common Council’s Budget Review Committee met with Oneonta Public Transit Director David Hotaling Tuesday, July 22 to discuss the challenges of the public transit system, focusing on driver shortages, route demands and cost management.

The committee was created to address a $1.68 million deficit in the city budget and explore potential cost savings and revenue generation. It began meeting monthly in January after a contentious vote on the 2025 budget, and has been hearing from department heads about their services, staffing levels, costs and areas for improvement.

The full Common Council is scheduled to meet in a special session at 5 p.m. Monday, July 28 to kick off the 2026 municipal budget planning process.

Present on Tuesday were committee chairperson Elayne Mosher Campoli, D- First Ward, and Len Carson, R- Fifth Ward. Absent were Kaytee Lipari Shue, D- Fourth Ward, and Michael Forster Rothbart, D- Seventh Ward.

Hotaling said OPT faces the challenge of getting enough drivers, because it competes with different organizations, like the school district, for same pool of applicants, raising salaries only to be matched by the competition.

“We have gotten away from the drivers job-hopping, so to speak,” he said. “We don’t see that as much anymore since we’ve become more competitive.”

An entry-level driver training program has been successful with retaining employees, he said. Overtime is managed carefully, and a new full-time position is expected to be filled soon.

The bus runs between SUNY Oneonta and Southside are in the highest demand. Service to Hartwick College is set to increase with Saturday daytime runs, increasing the contract by $10,000, bringing the fee up to $50,000.

OPT added a new Cooperstown All Star Village route this summer, which could have been better advertised if there had been time for more marketing, Hotaling said.

“We got the contract and it started a week and a half later,” he said. “Moving forward next year, if they market it correctly, it’ll be better. Either way, we’re gonna be made whole, the way the contract was written.”

The city is participating in Otsego County’s transit study to look at the feasibility of micro-transit in the city and county. The study is being funded with a federal grant.

Hotaling said he believes changes in federal funding are affecting “in a positive way.”

“We’ve applied for the operating assistance grant for the next two years, which is going to definitely help us,” he said.

OPT is supported through fares and contracts for bus services, but mostly through the state Department of Transportation’s Statewide Mass Transportation Operating Aid. STOA is based on passenger and mileage statistics.

“There is talks of changing the formula, so to speak, for STOA and how they administer this money,” Hotaling said. “We’ve been on the same formula for six years, and obviously we need more money.

Currently, bus rides are $1.50 for a local fare and $3.75 to Cooperstown. Raising fares is a tough subject, because it would be a burden to the people using the service, Hotaling said.

“Raising the fare anymore right now, with what I’m seeing, would maybe hinder us, with some people being unable to use a service,” he said. “That $1.50, some people struggle. I was in the office today, and people are paying pennies.”

OPT is not permitted to offer free services under NYSDOT regulations.

The bus tracker app has reduced phone calls, Hotaling said and costs $22 per bus monthly and an annual $1,500 fee for maintenance service for the whole system.

The 2025 budget projects a balanced deficit using CARES funding, Lee said. Health insurance costs are rising, with a 19% increase predicted for 2026. The five-year financial projection shows a surplus for 2025, but a deficit in 2027 and 2028, necessitating future planning.