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Columbia, S.C. (WACH) - Route cuts are back on the table two months after Richland County and the city of Columbia kicked in more than a million dollars to keep the cash strapped bus system afloat until at least the summer, but that pot of money is running dry. 

Columbia and Richland county leaders put the brakes on massive route cuts the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority would have implemented last month after dumping more than a million dollars into the struggling system.

Transit Director Robert Schneider is calling for a smaller version of those cuts to take effect April 30th, as this new infusion of cash dries up.

"If we act now, we can implement a 40 percent service reduction and survive as an organization,” said Schneider.  “If we don't make these changes, in a month from now, we're looking at a 44 percent reduction and a month after that we're looking at a 50 percent and so on.”

Save our Buses Director Bob Liming wants the CMRTA to trim other expenses first before shedding routes.

"I would hope that the elimination of service is the very last result, because the neediest in our community need to get to work, to their service jobs, hospitals, education centers."

But Schneider counters these latest’s cuts are deep enough, they include at least 30 jobs.

"We're going to be reducing our availability at the transit center.  We are also going to have changes in our custodial and security contracts that protect our facilities and resources we're going to trim back on some staffing positions,” said Schneider.

CMRTA’S board will discuss the latest round of cuts at a meeting March 14.

"We need to have a permanent bus system,” said Liming.  “This is a capital city, the capital of South Carolina.  The citizens deserve the best public transit we can find."

Schneider says if no route reductions are made to the system, it will shutdown by august 20th.