By: Diane Benjamin
According to this story: https://blnnews.com/2019/04/25/connect-transit-and-isu-facts/
ISU pays an average of .80 per ride for their students, The Connect Transit-ISU contract expires at the end of this year. I fully expect an emergency meeting since on December 5th the two sides couldn’t agree on what ISU will pay next year.
Meanwhile, the ISU Board is considering $50,000 bonus for President Deitz.
wglt.org/isu-consider-bonus-dietz-new-asian-restaurant
Bus service isn’t listed separately under fees charged by ISU – just this note:
The kids could just walk across campus like generations did before them, or they could pay $1 per ride like regular riders do. Either way, ISU will owe refunds if tuition has already been paid or billed for next semester.
Another reason why some agreement will be reached. Maybe if Chris Koos had filled the open seat in Normal, a disagreement could have been avoided.
So people of low income neighborhoods and seniors and disabled who MUST ride the bus (along with the rest of us) get stuck subsidizing the little children who cant just WALK a block to class? That in itself speaks volumes! I do notice that Disconnect is not talking about erasing ISU routes,just the routes of the people who fund the busses and have no other way to get to work or to shopping. I can bet ISU students want a free ride on the bus and that will be the major issue in the next contract.
Connect Transit just wants a big check from ISU to pay for bloated administrative costs and salaries. Koos and Renner essentially need ISU to cut a check otherwise they’ll be asked to send more money to cover the massive losses at Connect Transit. Knowing that the ridership and citizens, in general, are fumed at CT’s mismanagement, they don’t want to be seen paying more taxpayer money as it would be further evidence that the transportation authority is a big boondoggle and that they aren’t reining it in.
Since all rides are subsidized, cutting ISU ridership would mean less of a loss!
ISU has a lot of students that are required to live in off-campus housing their freshman and sophomore years. Without the bus they would have to walk over 25 minutes to get to class. Not really okay when last year it got down to -20 regularly. This isn’t a matter of “lazy kids” who don’t want to pay or walk.
For upperclassmen a lot of housing is way too expensive on campus and live all over town. For those without a lot of disposable income the one dollar fee really adds up. Kind of asinine to just rail on these people over wanting to ensure students have an inexpensive way to go to school.
It sounds like ISU created the problem by eliminating on campus housing. Now they expect local taxpayers to subsides their problem.