Racine bus fares to rise, service faces trimsSource:
By Larry Sandler of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 6, 2012 2:04 p.m.
Racine - Bus fares will increase and service will be cut Sunday for the Belle Urban System, the city announced.
Regular adult bus fare will rise from $1.50 to $2, accompanied by increases in fares for younger, older and disabled riders and in discounted pass rates. Also, evening service will be reduced and summer downtown trolley service will be eliminated.
Those changes were authorized by the city's 2012 budget, in response to cuts in state transit aid, the city Department of Public Works said.
I don't know if there are any bus riders out there but I thought I would post this, I found it in the JSOline, didn't see anything in the Journal Times about it.
Click here for JSOnline Article
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13 comments:
There was quite a bit of this in the local paper a while back. They went into detail of who would be affected: those who work at lower paying jobs, those with no means of transportation (or who can't drive, ie: license revocation) but work late shifts. They were saying some people came to meetings and complained that they will have to quit their jobs. These are people who are trying to be productive citizens.
There was also a reduction of services and availability for handicapped or elderly and nursing home patients who use special bus services for door to door appointments. Many rely on this for doctor appointments or having the ability of transport to be with family on weekends. Private providers cost $80-$100 per trip.
God forbid you are poor or in need of assistance. In this world of cut throat taxes, budget (and therefore service) reductions... and the ME first mentality, I guess if you can't pull your own weight, even for legitimate reasons, you are damned. Might as well shove them off on an iceberg to die.
Unified uses public transport as a cost savings measure for students who live outside regular bus lines. In fact, the numbers of students would surprise you.Don't think that this will be another cost increase that the schools will have to absorb. Kids, too, will get the short end of the rope somewhere down the line with these increases.
Let me clarify that last statement. Unified will *have to* absorb, meaning that programs, services or staffing will need to be cut to cover these cost increases. There will also be kids who have to walk more dangerous routes.
Sorry to go on and on... but your taxes will not be cut. Remember the state representatives decided that corporate taxes should be reduced and incentives (big $$ renovations and periods of no tax to corporations) in the idea that new jobs will be created. We have not seen that happen. So many jobs have been lost due to reduced revenue at city levels! The jobs they are enumerating are not decent living wage jobs, nor is the quantity anything near what was promised.
Mostly, be informed! Don't simply watch the recent propaganda commercials and believe everything that is being thrown your way. Our governor is going outside the state to raise an *uncapped amount* of funds to protect his job. New legislation they pushed through allows this.
Omg, they eliminated the trolley. I don't believe it. I bet funds, public and/or private, will be found/raised for the trolley.
When I first lived in Chicago, I was stunned by the mass transportation system. Owning a car in a crowded neighborhood became a hassle, especially parking. We sold the car and used the El, buses, and taxis to get around. We'd rent a car for trips to Wisconsin.
Unfortunately, a vehicle is almost a necessity for getting around in Racine. If you're poor, it's a real dilemma.
KK, thanks for the additional information. I too forgot about many of those situation which will affect people.
I truly believe the people who are making these decisions have “selective memory” and ignore the big picture as you have listed.
This stuff makes me thing of all the cuts to education and transportation by the state then Walker has the balls to turn around and say we have to educate the people of Wisconsin...
Again KK, thanks for the post, we all need to or should be constantly reminded of what is really going on out there.
How many times have you seen these monster busses nearly empty? Racine just ordered 14 more full size busses at 425k each. The City Director of Transit and Parking mentioned they will start running the smaller DART busses on some routes-they cost only 80k each and are about half the size. Why aren't we ordering mostly DART busses and a few full size busses for those AM and PM routes that have school kids on them? Diesel fuel cost is higher than gas.
Why do all the routes have to go the transit center? It is not very efficient and makes routes longer and increases fuel use. More people would ride with shorter routes-so what if you have to transfer to another bus.
Why isnt there one bus that runs only down Hwy 31, another each going down Memorial Dr, and Durand, Washington and so on. Lots of money to be saved-if you ran it like a business.
This can go both ways...
We Americans seemingly live in the world of convenience. It's much easier (and cheaper, somewhat)) to get into a car and drive off to our destinations without the hassle of waiting in all sorts of weather to catch a bus. I know of people who rather ask for rides rather than catch the bus. Perhaps one of the reasons of the low ridership of the bus....
The reduction of the bus system could cause some hassles for Tender Heart and me. We are a one car household and we both work. When our hours conflict, we depend on a bus/pick up system to get our jobs. I feel for those who NEED the bus...
Heaven forbid if my car breaks down...There never has been a bus route towards Franksville. Getting a cab is a joke...
I understand that business is business and money talks. Keeping an empty bus on the road going in circles makes no sense to anybody. It's not cost effective, especially when there are no funds coming in.. I can see the elimination of the trolley (that's just a luxury), but THIS? I think a redesign of the bus routing could could prove beneficial for everyone.
I am aware of the huge costs of the subsidies for mass transit. I understand that in Chicago, there are a lot more people to move to a lot more places. And I don't do it often, but I still ride the BUS occasionally. I take it from and to my mechanic when he works on my truck. The ride in the early morning is sometimes solitary, but the ride back in the afternoon usually has more passengers.
We don't have the economy to support much of a mass transit system. Everyone says we're broke. It looks bleak.
It'd be great to see city officials take the BUS to work wherever possible.
As if.
Anonymous...interesting point about using DART style busses during the slow times of the day.
KK said: Remember the state representatives decided that corporate taxes should be reduced and incentives (big $$ renovations and periods of no tax to corporations) in the idea that new jobs will be created.
In a way I agree with this, BUT the company which received these incentives HAS to guarantee they WILL hire “XX” amount of employees within a year to a year and half or they MUST pay the money back with interest in a year. And I’m not talking 2 or 4%, I’m talking credit card type interest, 20 – 24% and their top executives don’t get paid until the money is paid back, it’s that old saying, “put your money where your mouth is”!
SER, what really irked me was that many of those jobs that were wooed, at least initially, were corporations who moved about 2 blocks over the state line. They kept their workers, just came here for the tax breaks and the building remodel money. Sir Gov himself is on tape, shaking hands with the workers and CEO's. You and I gave them quite a nice bottom line boost.
Of course, we have a million dollars for a merry-go-round for idiot drivers in front of City Hall and unlimited financing for lawyers for lying John. The street light is burnt out in front of our building. Betcha it doesn't get replaced.
I know I really shouldn't post this but I am amazed someone who has lost so much because of "Sir Gov" hasn't sent him to the big Liar Play Ground in the Sky!
It's getting to the point where business which have never gotten robbed in the past are now open game!
I guess it's all going to end this coming December!!!!
There is one possible way with the bus situation. I use to live in Illinois and there would be three buses that would stop at one corner and go three different ways. There is no transit station to go to. This way the buses just keep going and they do not sit for a half an hour. Also the buses go into three cities around there.
Just like they can do here. They can go into Sturtavent and Franksville. Right now by us the bus does not go past Douglas. If the bus stops went further out they would get more people.
This is what Drew and I have been talking about for the last couple of days. So I thought I would post it on here.
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