By: Diane Benjamin
This is item is on the Connect Transit agenda for tomorrow’s meeting. Every dime was stolen from a hard working taxpayer. $184,660! A HOUSE could be built for that much! PDF page 89
Will employees start showing up in their PJ’s? Will breakfast be served too? How do showers create a safer environment? If they wanted to promote multi-modal commuting, why did they leave downtown? I hear there are lots of places the new offices could have been built downtown!
PDF page 92
Fare increases that would have only generated $22,975 will be delayed until January 1st.
Fixed route fares and Mobility were set to increase. Since Fixed Route is the majority of riders, pretend they would generate the entire $22,975 with a .25 increase.
91,900 riders would need to pay .25 more to generate $22,975. 91,900/365 days = 251 riders a day, Excluding weekends, 91,900/260 = 353 people a day.
I think Connect Transit accidentally told us how many people really ride and why we see empty buses! Add the college kids (when they are in town), and these numbers are closer than anything that has been reported. They represent around 1/3 of the total riders but are also counted more than once if they transfer to another bus.
Financial Information isn’t available since June was their year end.
So if we just got the names of those 251 (main) riders and provided them a $20 per day for a cab ride the 251 days X 20 = $5020, then 251 X 30 = $150,600 month and X 12 = $1,807,200 per year cost as a loss rather than the $11 million per annual loss currently. Let those extra weekenders ride a bicycle or walk so they can get out and breathe some fresh air. Where do I apply to takeover as chair of the disConnect Transit Board? I’m genius!
Alternatively, we could buy each of the 251 riders a $5000 vehicle and still have over $2500 left over for basic maintenance, registration, gas, and insurance per year.
Or we could give them each $500 bicycle (for a nice total of $125,500 and a savings of$1,657,200 from your plan). Then they can use our wonderful bike lanes. It’s a win win.
Now we can campaign against each other. 🙂
I can see the need for MECHANICS possibly needing a shower at work, say if, they had just did some work and gotten oil or antifreeze all over their clothes and needed a change, etc. As those are both health hazards, and I wouldn’t want to drive my personal vehicle home covered in oil, etc. But I can’t see the DRIVERS or OTHER personnel needing a shower at work. But as with EVERYTHING in the CT world, this is POOR planning, as they SHOULD have been done from the start IF they NEEDED/WANTED them.
They are moving to electric buses. Unless a battery explodes maintenance be different.
Since there is already plumbing I have to ask….$184,660 for 2 showers? This reminds me of the days of the $500 hammer. You can build a fairly decent 3 bedroom 2 bath house for that. Beyond that, I agree it is another fleecing of the taxpayer for the privileged government worker.
Where’s the outrage from the bleeding heart liberals?! Hello…Jenn? I guess they’re okay with taking more money from vulnerable riders while apparently gold-plated showers are installed. The stats from DisConnect Transit have always been suspicious at best. The average person outside of the Chamber of Commerce, EDC, and government offices knows that Connect Transit is a joke, complete waste of taxpayer money, and is unnecessary based on the population size of BN.
I have several mechanics in my family from diesel mechanic, to automobile mechanics, to township vehicle maintenance mechanic. One at about 40 years, four at about 30 years of employment. NONE OF THEM HAVE or HAD SHOWERS AT WORK.
As per the benefit of the taxpayers they KNOW it is a complete waste of money. The object in “their” minds is a transfer of wealth from the taxpayers into the hands of their cronies. It couldn’t be more obvious. Too many coincidences too often,,,it has got to be intentional.
The only comment I have is you got to be sh@&?$: me!
Remember back when they wanted showers on main street for bicyclist and pedestrians. Geez! Who’s going to keep it clean? Hell they can’t even cut the weeds in their new fancy boulevards. And NOW will extra showers be needed for 68 different transgenders? The lunatic left strikes again. Is there no end to their madness???