By: Diane Benjamin
Scroll to PDF page 31 below. You will see this:
The “Cares Act” is just another cute name for “We Don’t Care How Much We Spend”.
As reported in this story: https://blnnews.com/2020/05/22/wow-so-close-connect-transit/
In April Connect lost a little more than usual. That $9,179,551 the feds showered on Connect will make up for slightly higher losses for around 7 YEARS. Ridership was way down, but most of the money Connect gets isn’t from fares.
Raising fees for riders was unnecessary and so is local funding – at least increasing what Connect already gets. Raising fees was on the May agenda – see PDF page 26. Instead of an increase, Connect calls it One Rate for All:
Of the course the Board passed it. When “free” ends in July the average riders will be paying more.
Meanwhile Normal is under represented because Koos refuses to appoint anyone to the Connect Transit Board. He must have run out of bobble-heads:
Nothing will change until voters wipe out the current leaders in both cities.
Click to access May%202020%20CT%20Board%20of%20Trustees%20Packet.pdf
Connect hit the lotto with covid. They obviously don’t need the extra money they are trying to get from local taxpayers. Knowing this is a government run disaster I bet they still end up convincing both cities to increase our taxes they lavish on connect.
Both towns just throw money at connect instead of addressing the service problems. There still are no more than a few people on the huge busses. Mass transit may never recover from the fear covid has instilled. Connect should be investing in the next trend in transit not wasting money on their archaic model.
Fleeced – I think you make an interesting point about investing in the next trend in transit. Do you have thoughts or ideas on what this could be?
Flying mini cars