LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) district races to find remedies to its transportation woes, it appears the possibility of partnering further with Louisville's public transit provider is growing.
On Thursday, both Mayor Craig Greenberg's office and Metro Council President Markus Winkler (D-17) confirmed to WHAS11 that officials met Wednesday to discuss the potential of helping both JCPS and TARC remedy their current issues.
And according to Winkler, who was in the room for that meeting, the conversations went well. He cited "positive momentum."
"There was nothing that presented a major regulatory challenge, which I thought was extremely encouraging," Winkler said. "Our biggest enemy is time, and so we need to be doing things that buy us the time to find the longer-term solutions."
Earlier this week, the Mayor pitched a possible opportunity for JCPS to hire more bus drivers by taking from the pool of TARC workers who could be laid off, as the agency faces financial hardship. JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio was there, too, and is on board with the idea.
"We will hire every single TARC driver that is available to us, and we will do that as quickly as we possibly can," Pollio said Monday. "I will say this to any TARC driver that is impacted, you will get a raise."
City officials promised the community they'd meet this week to discuss a potential partnership, and they wasted no time.
"We did not uncover any deal killers," Winkler said about the meeting, which reportedly lasted about an hour and a half Wednesday evening.
Greenberg, Pollio, and leaders from both TARC and its bus drivers' union were all at the table.
"TARC leadership was there, and I will give them all of the credit in the world for coming with an open mind and really being willing to have the conversation and say, 'How can we make this work?'" Winkler told WHAS11.
Soon after the news conference Monday, TARC union president Lillian Brents pushed back on the idea to funnel laid off employees to JCPS, saying it wouldn't be a fair trade for their drivers. She said they have better pay and more consistent work.
"Y'all want to know how y'all can help? Fund the transit system here in Louisville," Brents said Monday.
But Winkler says a new alternative was brought up at Wednesday's talk.
"One of the options we explored yesterday which seemed to have legs as a possible solution is rather than people being laid off by TARC and hired by JCPS, can JCPS contract TARC to run these routes?"
Right now, these are just initial conversations, and JCPS officials say they expect follow-up meetings.
But city leaders acknowledge, time remains of the essence.
In a statement sent to WHAS11 on Thursday, Mayor Greenberg said: "I am grateful for everyone who came to the table Wednesday to discuss how we can work together to help both JCPS and TARC, and even more grateful we walked away with encouraging next steps. Time is of the essence. I remain very hopeful."
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