Tag: Connect Transit

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

None of Connect Transit’s Electric Buses are running

By: Diane Benjamin How do I know that? From their website: https://connect-transit.com/about/our-fleet . Now see this story: https://readlion.com/biden-harris-admin-recalls-hundreds-of-electric-buses-amid-fire-concerns/ Excerpt: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a warning Wednesday about 483 electric transit buses being recalled over safety defects, according to a safety advisory. Phoenix Motorcars is voluntarily recalling Proterra 800V catalyst vehicles from 2020 to […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit Transparency

By: Diane Benjamin Meeting documentation: https://connect-transit.com/file/2937/09%2024%202024_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Every other year statistics for the year end were only delayed a month. That was June 30th, nothing is included. Transparency? This report says it is for Period 1 which if July: The losses just keep getting higher! The loss for August isn’t included but the ridership numbers are: […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

This is what throwing away $1 million+ looks like

By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader This pic is from February 2024 at a body shop in Carlock: , The same electric bus is still sitting in Carlock deteriorating: . Why is it parked so close to other vehicles? Safe? .

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tonight: Beginning of the End for Market Street Garage

By: Diane Benjamin Tonight Bloomington finally gets to destroy the Market Street garage. The documentation doesn’t say where people parking there now will park during construction of Connect Transit’s transfer center and new parking garage. Excerpts: https://d2kbkoa27fdvtw.cloudfront.net/cityblm/0e86386b97bf1b532c53aec744be92750.pdf The documentation claims the City has spent $870,000 in the last 5 years fixing the garage. Is the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Board didn’t have a quorum

By: Diane Benjamin Ryan Whitehouse and Julie Hile didn’t attend the meeting. Barb Singer participated remotely. Evidently Normal is missing one representative – see this page: https://connect-transit.com/board/meet-the-board The video of the meeting doesn’t not show the beginning, so I have no idea why they declared a quorum didn’t exist. 3 members were present with 1 […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit System Statistics minus the June loss

By: Diane Benjamin The July meeting is tomorrow at 4:30. No financial information this month because June is their your end. Ridership was down in June. The number of available vehicles was up from June of last year, but the miles they drove were down. If you expect FLEX to be at your house at […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

I found some disinformation: Connect Transit

By: Diane Benjamin 3 people showed up for Public Comment at the June Connect Transit meeting. No, none of them were there to mention the taxpayers abuse by their ridiculous losses. Just May was almost $1.5 million. All 3 speakers were employees of Connect. They can barely be seen because most of the screen is […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

So Close Connect Transit!

By: Diane Benjamin The Connect Transit Board is meeting today at 4:30 with newly re-appointed Bloomington Board rep/chair Ryan Whitehouse: https://connect-transit.com/file/2527/06%2025%202024_Board%20of%20Trustees%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf For May they came soooo close to losing $1.5 million in ONE MONTH. Not included as an expense is this gem: I’m sure they capitalized spending $493,083.28 on a bus overhaul. Without a FOIA […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington buying Owens Nursery property

By: Diane Benjamin Tonight’s agenda: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/f7099398-5bbe-11ee-ae13-0050569183fa-791fe512-602c-4d20-98c8-ecdbbed39134-1717791762.pdf Since the City is flush with cash they are paying $5,425,000 from the General Fund to create a new Public Works Campus. The cash is available for a variety of reasons: All tax increases by government need to be opposed because they NEVER go away. Even if they say […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Challenges and Inefficiency: Analyzing Connect Transit’s Performance and Losses

By: Diane Benjamin More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/05/29/a-new-low-for-connect-transit/ In April Connect Transit crossed the $1.4 million mark for the first time. That is with Fixed Route ridership up, expensive Mobility ridership down, and Flex providing 4,684 rides. PDF page 8: https://connect-transit.com/file/2405/05%2028%202024_Board%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Most of the high loss has to be contributed by: If 60 huge buses […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

A New Low for Connect Transit

By: Diane Benjamin Instead of a LOW – it’s tragic. Connect managed to lose more than $1.4 million in just April: PDF page 7: https://connect-transit.com/file/2405/05%2028%202024_Board%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Compare that with 3 short years ago – May meeting in 2021: PDF page 9 https://connect-transit.com/file/186/May%2025%202021%20Board%20Packet.pdf That is an increased loss of $461,194 in just 3 years. All of those […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Roll your eyes: Connect Transit

By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent this pic yesterday. The driver was across 2 lanes for a long time on College Ave: At the 4/23 Board meeting Connect Transit General Manager David Braun stated that if the electric grid ever went down they wouldn’t be able to charge their electric buses. Hey David: If the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Pencil Pushers

By: Diane Benjamin Surrena Fish was back with an update on Tent City. She claimed there is a waiting list now and police had to be called to break up a fight. Just hit play to hear her comments. The Connect Transit update on the downtown transfer station isn’t that long. If you don’t want […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

I don’t remember a vote, but . . .

By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington has been tired of spending money on the Market Street Garage for many years, but I certainly don’t remember a vote to hand it over to Connect Transit. That garage belongs to Bloomington residents. I can’t wait to see how they make this one legal. An Intergovernmental Agreement will probably appear […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Congrats to Connect Transit

By: Diane Benjamin Congrats to Connect Transit for figuring out a way to be transparent. I don’t know if this is a permanent change or only because Tim Gleason was attending remotely. What they accomplished was getting slides and remote speakers on the video instead of just on the screens in the room that can […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

EV Townhall a bust

By: Diane Benjamin A whopping 30 people attended the EV Townhall! If that isn’t funny enough, read WGLT’s article about the event: https://tinyurl.com/EV-Townhall 10 people were on the panel for the 30 attendees. Of course claims were made about EV’s and Climate Change. Facts are immaterial. Get some: https://climateataglance.com/climate-at-a-glance-natural-vs-human-contributions-to-greenhouse-gases-and-global-average-temperatures/ The article got really funny with […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

That bus being towed wasn’t electric

By: Diane Benjamin I mentioned in this story a reader told me he/she witnessed an electric Connect Transit bus being towed: https://blnnews.com/2024/03/04/two-things-i-wish-i-had-pics-of/ It turns out it wasn’t an electric bus. Obtained by FOIA: Connect Transit is forced to use OLD buses because the new electric fleet is junk. In case you can’t read that email, […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Two things I wish I had pics of

By: Diane Benjamin I get tips frequently, mostly people forget to take pictures or aren’t able because they are driving. If you can stop and get a picture, please do! Visual is always better. 1) With the severe winds over the weekend I hear the tent city in downtown Bloomington had garbage blowing everywhere. A […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit report

By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s meeting was 1 hour and 42 minutes. I can recap everything in a few of lines: The campaign to make YOU see the value of Connect Transit will be launching soon. You WILL love them! The scaled back fixed route schedule will continue. Mentioned was the aging buses and the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit festivities tonight

By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Donna Boelen mentioned at the Council meeting last night Connect Transit hasn’t presented their budget to the City as required by the Inter-Governmental agreement. They never do. The budget includes $800,000 more for them anyway. It was reduced last year when CT said they didn’t need the money. Now it’s back. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

How much has Connect Transit paid Proterra?

By: Diane Benjamin All previous electric bus stories: https://blnnews.com/2024/01/30/3-more-shocking-emails-electric-buses/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/30/foia-emails-from-rivian-to-connect-transit/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/24/connect-transit-random-finds/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/one-more-connect-transit-for-now/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/proterra-is-solyndra/ From this story: How much of your money has been wasted on Proterra buses? Since ADHD is both a blessing and a curse, I could have missed some payments. Note, Proterra filed for bankruptcy in August of 2023. The oldest electric buses are two […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

3 more shocking emails: Electric Buses

By: Diane Benjamin 3 more Connect transit emails I received via FOIA: 1) This one is from Proterra, the writer appears to be joking that a new bus made it to 900 miles. 2) Proof the electric buses are a joke – a many millions of dollars joke. The problems existed long before Proterra filed for bankruptcy. 3) I […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

FOIA emails FROM Rivian TO Connect Transit

By: Diane Benjamin I know some of you read stories on your phone and emails I post can be difficult to read on a small screen. Here’s the recap: A Rivian employee wrote an email to Connect Transit because she considers them “experts in the Electric vehicle industry”. The email is dated November 28, 2023. Rivian was having problems […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Proof your elected officials do as told, they don’t work for you

By: Diane Benjamin How did Rep Sharon Chung and Senator Dave Koehler write the exact same letter on the same day?

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit Random finds

By: Diane Benjamin The Connect Transit Board met last night. The only mention of their electric buses was in connection to a new propaganda campaign that will be launching. (They call it marketing) Goal: You will proud of your local bus system! Part of the campaign will be wrapping all the buses – except electric ones. Only one is running so why […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

One more Must See Connect Transit

By: Diane Benjamin I have not finished reading everything I received. There is likely more to report. Make sure you read to the bottom. Connect’s General Manager doesn’t want you to know any of this. Refer back to the HUGE November loss: https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/connect-loses-more-than-the-coliseum/ Salaries were almost twice normal. I thought Connect had a hiring spree of drivers and were no longer […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Proterra is Solyndra

By: Diane Benjamin The Connect Transit Board meets at 4:30 today. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFica7k-pGY Will any of the below be discussed? 🤣😂 Remember when Solyndra was supposed to create a ton of solar panels, got tons of federal money, and then declared bankruptcy. Of course no one was ever held accountable, so this “making friends of government […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect loses more than the Coliseum

By: Diane Benjamin November is a new record loss. See wages and stay tuned. This is going to take more than one story. I have proof the Proterra Electric buses are junk. Connect has 12. One might still be operating, the count of working electric buses changed weekly. It never went up – only down.  Many millions of your tax dollars were […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Hum, Connect Lost their Electric buses?

By: Diane Benjamin We know Connect Transit bought electric buses from Proterra – they PAID for them: https://blnnews.com/2023/08/25/did-connect-transit-throw-away-9-million/ Those buses were paid for in 2022 and 2023.  Maybe staff didn’t have time in the last 2 years to update the website, but under Connect Transit Fleet no electric buses are listed: https://connect-transit.com/about/our-fleet There are 39 diesel buses and […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Heard about Connect Transit’s bus problem?

By: Diane Benjamin This is the official talking points the Connect Transit General Manager posted on Facebook: I received a tip that had NOTHING to do with a parts shortage, I filed a FOIA request on January 8th. It was due last Monday but Connect extended the request until the end of business next Monday. (1/22/24) The […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

3 Things you need to know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) Don’t forget Tri-Valley is raising property taxes 5 days before Christmas: 2) Bloomington had planned to meet tonight and next Monday to avoid Christmas. Tonight’s meeting has been canceled. Maybe raising taxes 2 meetings in a row had the alderman’s phone ringing too much. I wonder if next Monday Gleason will […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Want to know a secret?

By: Diane Benjamin You already know it if you read this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/11/29/connect-transit-wants-you-to-love-them/ The whole messaging campaign is supposed to be a secret until they develop some slogan EVERYONE can repeat over and over and over. They want a planned rollout. I bet you can’t wait to see how they counter all the “disinformation”. (like […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit wants you to love them

By: Diane Benjamin Remember yesterday’s story where I told you the next Bloomington City Manager and Council can take the extra “enhanced revenue” and use it for things this Council didn’t pass? In other words, new people ignore what previous people did. The Connect Transit Board meeting last night proved that. The new General Manager […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit has secrets

By: Diane Benjamin The agenda for meetings has to be posted 48 hours in advance – Open Meetings Act. Maybe everyone is taking time off, but the agenda for the 11/28 meeting is posted now. That is at least a week early: https://connect-transit.com/file/1982/11%2028%202023_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Here is just one of likely many secrets: The secret is the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Facts Connect Transit used to buy Proterra buses

By: Diane Benjamin At this week’s meeting it was mentioned that Champaign is trying hydrogen buses. It was mentioned Connect Transit might go that direction when they need more buses. Of course that would require different infrastructure. It would have been a lot easier to keep diesel buses and a lot faster to refuel them. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit aired an Executive Session

By: Diane Benjamin Last month the Connect Transit Board had an Executive Session to discuss the performance of the General Manager. It wasn’t an in depth discussion, they just set the parameters used to give him more money. Judy Buchanan wanted to make sure the salaries of area managers were included, every board uses them […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More on Proterra buses (oops)

By: Diane Benjamin New article from Wyoming: https://dailycaller.com/2023/09/27/electric-bus-proterra-bankrupt-wyoming-teton-operation/ Connect Transit bought Proterra buses even though there was plenty of evidence other cities had problems with them, some abandoned them. In June CT bought $7,507.10 in parts from Proterra. In July they bought $3,799.64 more. In August they spent $1,334.80 on parts and tools. Keep in […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Empty buses – the proof:

By: Diane Benjamin Documentation for yesterday’s meeting: https://www.connect-transit.com/file/1782/09%2026%202023_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Since June was their year-end, reporting was delayed. The TOTAL OPERATING DEFICIT for last fiscal year was: $15,360,045 June loss: PDF page 8 July loss: PDF page 14 August loss: PDF page 20 June TOTAL income: $112,061 July TOTAL income: $93,493 August TOTAL income: $153,627 The moral […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit lost $1,693,739 in June!

Details tomorrow That is a new record.

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Hey Connect Transit: One of your buses is leaking

H/T a reader West side Walmart, red is normal?