To cut or not to cut, the discussion continues, though the only thing public about public transit in our area is its cost, as a huge majority of the public drives around in their own cars.
If the public transit system dealt with the reality of who rides it—a small minority—rather than pursuing a service model that tries to get everyone else to ride it, they could probably deliver better service at less cost to those who really need it and use it.
Then scarce transportation funds could go to what really needs fixing—for the large majority—roads and bridges.
Editorial: Cut transit funds? First, get out and take a ride
For the price of a ticket, lawmakers can learn what public transit is really all about
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Whenever legislators resolve the state budget impasse, they are unlikely to step back from the governor's initial proposal to slash funding for public transit. Assembly members went along with the governor and agreed to divert $1.1 billion in supplemental transit funds to help balance the state budget. Senate Democrats have fallen in line, and Senate Republicans want to cut $100 million more.
Legislators who agreed to stick it to bus and train riders told The Bee's Tony Bizjak that any resulting transit cuts are better than cutting education and programs for the poor. How clueless can our lawmakers be? Who do they think rides transit?
To understand what cutting transit really means, legislators and the governor ought to take a break from the strain of the budget debate in their air-conditioned chambers, leave their taxpayer-funded automobiles in the Capitol garage, stroll past the steel posts erected at a cost of millions last year to protect them from terrorists, hop onto a bus or light-rail car, and check out who's on board.
They will find young people, many of them students, and the working poor, many traveling to and from minimum-wage jobs. Sacramento Regional Transit reports that 48 percent of its riders have household incomes of $20,000 or less a year, and 62 percent are transit- dependent -- either they do not have automobiles or are not licensed to drive. Many of these riders are elderly or disabled.
