By: Diane Benjamin
While Normal was raising the Sales Tax to provide more money for Connect Transit, CT was busy spending it. Have you noticed all the new green signs?
Below is some of the spending approved at the September 22, 2015 Board meeting.
This is what happens to taxpayer money when the media fails to investigate, report, and citizens are unaware of where their money is spent.
Instead of asking for driver input on routes, they hired a consultant from California. http://nelsonnygaard.com/
Connect Transit has a “Planner” on staff – Kyle Boehm. Why did they spend $96,542.04 on another one?
Public transportation is needed in Bloomington-Normal. Incomes and opportunities continue to fall as businesses close or move people out. But, we all see the big buses with 5 people on them.
More fleecing by government. They spend your money because they can, nobody is watching.
This clearly shows why creating a park district CAN’T be allowed.
I have been shocked by the number of bus stops now that they are clearly marked. Why are there stops every two blocks? No wonder it takes an hour to get anywhere on the bus.
You are correct on the number of riders per bus being around 5. Yet the busses keep getting bigger. I drive through downtown frequently, and there are a lot of new busses. They should just replace the busses with vans.
Heck, replace the buses with taxis. Back in the 1980s, I was involved in a study of the per rider cost of running the BLM-NL transit system. If memory serves, it was $21+ per rider, way back then. But the Lefties do love their public transportation–as long as taxpayers fund it and they never have to use it.
The City never takes into account the fiscal impact for any of their projects or services.
The bus stop signs are barely visible with the backdrop of trees. A good planner would have taken that into account. More of the tax increase money will be spent for the multi-modal bus-stop being planned along with the jail expansion. I think Bloomington has or will be contributing to this CT expansion whether they will admit it or not. That discussion will be a part of the Budget Planning Retreat.
I’ve noticed a few of the new bus stops that when the winter ice hits we’re going to see some buses sliding around. Guess the consultant from California didn’t take Illinois winters into account, duh.
What is the REAL cost of all these bus stops? Say you have 2 employees in a truck making $20 hour and they get behind a bus say, ONCE a week for 10 minutes? And NO I bet that ANY CA firm didn’t think snow. When I drove tour buses in a National park, the CA and FL drivers were the worst in snow, sometimes the whole system would shut down so they couldn’t drive!
Anyone actually know if ridership is up, down, or flat? Just curious. Because a few people see “5 people” on a bus doesn’t mean it’s not full on the return trip.
I started looking at the numbers. I think since around March ridership has been decreasing. More in the future.
I too would be curious to know. Send me an email if I can help analyze the data.
I have never seen a full bus, and I have been frequently driving through their “hub” in downtown Bloomington for 8 years. Anecdotes alone do not make a strong case, but the busses are very underutilized.
Wonder if the mayor and city manager ever take the bus? They want the big city experience so bad here that they should fully embrace it and ride public transportation.