By: Diane Benjamin
February packet: https://www.connect-transit.com/documents/Februrary%202020%20CT%20Board%20Packet%20V2.pdf
Let’s look at Connect Transit a different way.
PDF page 22 claims in January Connect Transit had 204,683 fixed route passengers
PDF page 8 says passenger fares were $52,882.80. The only way to have 204,683 riders is to have 75% of all riders not paying – either Medicaid, ISU, Heartland, or other contract.
Total contract fares: 48,178 + 15132.51 = $63,310.51 (PDF page 8)
The number of fixed route riders was up from last year – a total of 22,442 rides.
The funny thing about Connect is the more riders they have the more money they lose – every ride is subsidized so it’s only common sense.
Back to PDF page 8: (January 2020)
PDF page 7: (January 2019)
With 22,442 fewer riders in January of 2019, Connect lost less money:
One more twist:
PDF page 22 says the fixed route buses traveled 109,532 miles in January to transport those 204,683 riders.
The buses ran for 9,015 hours so 204,683 people could ride. That amounts to an average of 22.7 people riding all the buses during any given hour.
The cost to taxpayers:
$972,548
When does this become too ridiculous?
PDF page 8 shows the routes with riders per hour. Most don’t justify a huge bus. Of course Redbird Express has 3-5 times more boardings per hour than the others.
If you missed the Working Groups finding, see them here: https://www.connect-transit.com/documents/CTTF%20FINAL%20Recommendations.pdf
We are well past the point of Ridiculous. We need to shut this down. Only way to do this is to get out in droves to vote. Make sure all the socialists do not get elected, or do not get re-elected. Scary times we’re living in.
The predicted “purpose” of the workgroup was to get the local municipalities to cough up more money. Surprise, surprise that is what is recommended.
This is the government MO. Give people who have proven time and time again they make reckless choices more money. There will be no accountability.
McCurdy is a bully who careS little for anyone except ISU and other elites. Connect prioritized the better bus stop campaign to fix ISU’s stops before attempting to fix the ones where the disabled and lower income live. This alone speaks volumes. Koos hand selected him for his ISU over those in need morals.
Many people have begged connect to serve the ADA and reliant riders for years. It really took a workgroup for Connect to finally listen? The board is a joke and should be trusted with no more money.
Just take a few minutes to look at Bikie Mikie’s twitter feed: @MikeMcCurdy . He is a leftist. He retweeted this yesterday:
Michelle DuBarr
I believe change is coming. I am ready to fight for other families, for #MedicareForAll, and to elect
@BernieSanders president. Sending solidarity and love to all who are suffering under this awful system.
So @MikeMcCurdy is a communist and supports Bernie Sanders (a communist).
Yes, we have communists running our board and running both of our towns. And just like EVERYWHERE it’s been tried, socialism/communism is not working here either. Big surprise, right?
Let’s hope Mikie will need a resume after the Republicans take the House, the Senate and the presidency in November. Defunding NPR is on the table for our great president. Defunding Connect Transit should be on our agenda too. Enough is enough!
Changes to CT will most likely come after changes to the city/town council elections in April of 2020. Whether you’re in Bloomington, Normal, or most anyplace else:
1) Find a good candidate you can support, and Support Them! Financial support is most appreciated as that’s what’s usually hardest to get, but campaign support like making phone calls or walking parades or putting up a sign is great, or just spreading word-of-mouth (or -email!), is great too!
2) If you can’t find a good candidate you can support, Recruit one! And then Support Them!
3) And if you can’t recruit a good candidate, Become One!
April of **2021** – sorry for critical typo!
ONE good question arises here.. WHY can’t “homeless” people, ie: living at the HSHM or the Salvation Army get a FREE pass to make it to a doctors appointment? One would think as MUCH as Mr Tari and Koos “tout” CT as “being for the people who NEED IT” They would be FIRST on the list.. NOT ISU or IWU students who are TOTALLY capable of walking AND texting at the same time, while walking in front of moving vehicles…
Good point of students walking in front of cars. But then again union scum Majetka used this as a justification for wasting 20+ million for railroad underpass and walking between train cars.. Some feel you can not fix stupid, others like Matjeka feel you can with everybody else’s money while filling union coffers.