By: Diane Benjamin
I am WAY behind on stories, so you readers have homework. Contract Transit didn’t meet and report their loses for months, so this board packet includes reports for 3 months. It also includes minutes from the retreat they held.
It is way past time for all of you to see what they do for yourself. Of course they lost more than a million a month, in December they went past $1.3 million thrown away.
Look at what they spend money on. Look at the reports. Look at ridership. Only people purposely want to waste your money would fund this. Nothing will change until you demand change!
$10.3500.00 spent on Employee Vaccination Incentives. The list of waste goes on and on.
The report on Financial sustainability was the most concerning. Fare rates were raised twenty five cents and then they just dip into the city and town pockets for another $250,000 a year. There is nothing sustainable about Connect Transit. If they successfully pass the Transit Taxing District they will continue to fleece us every chance they get.
My employers incentive option was get it done or face possible termination.
We must keep the buses running in preparation for the new socialist world that is coming our way. As more and more people become dependent on the state for everything, buses will become a vital part of our transportation system. Sure the party bosses will still be able to drive their electric vehicles but the “regular” people will need this mass transit system. So until the socialists like Mayor Koos can destroy the free market system here and establish the control necessary to “educate” the proletariat to understand how good the new system is, we must just spend “whatever it takes” to keep the buses running.
As long as LaHood, Davis, the rest of the local, state and federal political class slobber all over themselves to constantly provide taxpayer funded grants and other taxpayer funding gimmicks for CT and other useless projects such as the Town of Normal underpass, nothing will ever change. The ballot box no longer works! It is unfortunate that Representative Bustos doesn’t represent McLean County. She is constanatly returning taxpayer $$ to the Peoria area for infrastructure projects. What do taxpayers in McLean County receive………some cold pack to fill a few holes on the terrible streets in B/N.
Normal and Bloomington councils oversee disConnect Transit. They don’t care so Connect is untouchable and does what they want.
Look at the composition of the Transit Board. Apparently they are lifetime appointments – based on ability to confirm and happy clap on command. A veritable gravy train for everyone involved (except the taxpayer )
Oh, but we have Julie Hile on the board, a nationally renown expert on public transportation. If you don’t believe me, just ask her. There’s also a vacant seat since WGLT guy stepped down.
Bloomington-Normal is not NYC. It is not Chicago. It will NEVER be either…although the delusions of grandeur run strong with the grifters pissing away taxpayer money by the tens of millions to build their little pipe-dream empire and hopefully make themselves rich. Downtown is depressing and, frankly, unlivable — unless you’re a drunk who likes to hit the bar every night and stumble home without driving. This is a CAR TOWN. People mostly WORK and live in HOUSES with YARDS. The buses are EMPTY. Aren’t we in the middle of a pandemic? Wasting public funds like this is irresponsible and criminal. Who knows what’s coming?