On a rainy November morning at the downtown bus terminal, George Kuykeneall and Laura Munger wait for their bus. The pair depend on the service to make it back and forth to work as well as shop and perform other necessary tasks.

With the failure of measure 24-247, the Salem Mass Transit District will be forced to make what have been termed "substantial cutbacks" to services provided by Cherriots.

According to officials of the transit district, the loss of the money from the five-year tax levy, which would have allotted $30 million to the service, is expected to not only displace riders, but also to eliminate services, as well as jobs within Cherriots.

The levy would have cost taxpayers 49 cents per $1,000 on the assessed value of a home, equaling about $98 per year on a home valued at $200,000.

The transit district originally asked for the funds in an effort to offset rising fuel prices, increased ridership, as well as to meet the increasing cost of supplying services such as Cherry Lift, which is a service that provides transportation for disabled residents.

Munger said that with winter coming, longer waits and discontinued service would present a real problem for her and other riders.

Cherriots has estimated that they have seen an increase in ridership of 10 percent or 40,000 riders per month in the last year.

Many of the riders who depend upon the service are low income, elderly, and disabled.

Shirley Foushee, who uses a cane to walk due to hip pain, said that the changes would make it more difficult for her to make medical appointments.

“I hate that the measure didn’t pass the vote,” she said. “I think that it will not even phase some people who voted against it. But for me, it will make all of the difference in the world.”

Although the transit authority has not made a final decision regarding the services to be eliminated, General Manager Allan Pollock said that the most likely to face elimination would be Saturday service.

He said that Cherriots will need to cut 25,000 hours of service to counter the loss of money; Saturday service represents 20,000 hours. It is also more expensive, he said, to run Saturday service due to extra staffing and other considerations.

“There will be significant cutbacks to Saturday service, if it is not eliminated altogether,” he said.

If Saturday service is cut it would mean that an estimated 10,000 riders would be forced to seek alternative transportation. The elimination of Cherry Lift services on Saturdays would affect up to 180 disabled Cherry Lift riders, according to Cherriots.

The changes, which would take place in 2009, will also see the loss of existing jobs from Cherriots. Pollock estimated that 15 to 20 positions would have to be terminated due to the failure of the tax levy.

Apart from the loss of existing jobs, routes, and services, the lack of money will terminate plans to increase routes and frequencies on heavily traveled routes, compounding issues to a service that is already attempting to deal with increased ridership.

Traffic congestion and the environment will also be affected by the decision. Pollock stated that Cherriots has estimated that for every bus the service has on the road, 100 automobiles are removed from the streets.

Pollock said that the taxpayers had made their decision and that the transit district would do what it had to do to meet their budget while supplying the best service possible.

“It is a shame that the measure failed but we will have to work with what we are given,” he said.

A meeting is set for December 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Marion County Courthouse Square to discuss the cutbacks.