By: Diane Benjamin
The CT Board held a meeting on 7/28/2020. No financial information was included in the packet because June was the end of their fiscal year.
That doesn’t mean other information wasn’t included in the packet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13_-iBZ8DuPQ_3Or2S90fgHrWo9JhJ1Wf/view
PDF page 3 shows customers were down 13.6% for the year July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020. PDF page 2 shows June was down 25.7%.
PDF page 4 has a report from Cardinal Infrastructure, the paid consultant in DC. CT is using tax dollars to track what is happening in committees that has no chance of passing. Democrats are creating transportation plans to appease the “Green New Deal” radicals, the Senate will never pass it. This quote sums up what happened:
PDF page 4 – Democrats want to pay 90% of the cost for electric buses. (See how the debt got out of control?)
See PDF page 5. People living in towns across the country without public transportation would be forced to fund CT’s empty buses – under Democrat funding.
Same page – the Democrat HEROES Act is badly named (normal procedure like Affordable Care Act that isn’t affordable). $15.75 billion was provided for operating assistance grants, most of it going to large systems.
PDF page 8 – Fares suspended until September 8.
PDF page 7 – Connect can’t hire and train new drivers because of COVID restrictions. They expect problems if they return to Full-Service. Overtime is compensating for now.
PDF page 9 – More proof people across the state that will never ride a bus are forced to pay for Connect Transit:
The extensive documents submitted to the State of Illinois to obtain money are included. Both Bloomington and Normal will be paying more. Nothing will change until you change the people in charge of both.
I cut and pasted this one, “Until the Transit changes its drop off and pick up point at the V A Clinic, they are not serving the community. They are like a Golf Course minus all the holes.” Well said?
How about calling it instead “KT” for Koos transit?? And let HIM foot the bill, since he THINKS it’s the best thing since sliced bread!
Connect Transit has never served its ridership. It was the brainchild of ideologues, big government central planners, and crony capitalists. The only people that Connect Transit serves are the egos of politicians and those feeding at the taxpayer-funded trough. Worse still, the proponents of Connect Transit present themselves as compassionate advocates for the poor and disabled, while continuously choosing politics over (and at the expense of) common sense and basic solutions. (Just ask Stan.) Connect Transit conspicuously sponsors, is seated on committees, and has a strong seat within the local Chamber and EDC. The only reason they are involved and are spending money with these groups is to protect themselves from any scrutiny and to get out their propaganda messaging. Connect Transit will continue spending money without a care in the world while attacking anyone that dares to question the system that enriches those involved.