IS IT TRUE the Evansville City Council heard a plea last night from a group of citizens who utilize the Metropolitan Evansville Transit System (METS) to commute to and from their jobs?…this plea was to add Sunday service which has never been provided so they can ride the bus to their jobs on Sunday?…Evansville and other cities have been off of blue law time for many years and that Sunday is one of the busiest days of the week for retail trade, restaurants, and even hospitality?…public recreation areas are also open on Sundays and see frequent visitation?…the businesses that are open on Sunday do indeed rely on their employees to find a way to work on time and to stay their whole shift?…the people employed by these kinds of businesses are the very demographic group from which much of the bus ridership comes from?…it would seem that the retail establishments, restaurants, and other businesses that open on Sunday would benefit just as much as their employees from having a Sunday bus service?…some people may even use the bus to travel to church on Sunday?…this request merits serious consideration by the City Council?
IS IT TRUE there are those who will point to the long history of financial losses by METS and scream subsidized commuting over this plea to add Sunday service?…those who commute by car are also subsidized but in a less direct way?…auto commuters drive on public streets, rely on police protection, and park in places they do not pay for to go to their jobs?…it may actually cost more to subsidize auto commuters than it does to subsidize bus commuters?… METS revenues in 2012 were $4.1 Million and costs were $7.6 Million?…projections for 2013 are $3.5 Million in revenues and $8.2 Million in costs?…if public transportation is really a vital link between worker and employer (and we believe it is) then it would be preferable if it were at least a break even proposition?…the numbers do not lie and METS is seeing historical losses of roughly 50% of revenue but is projecting lower revenues and higher costs for 2013?…in the business world this would merit immediate intervention?…the $3.5 Million in projected revenue over a 6 day week works out to $583,000 per day per year?…given the estimate to add Sunday service is only $500,000 if Sunday ridership is as much as 85% of the daily average for the other 6 days the addition of Sunday service would be a cash flow neutral proposition?…this is worth a try and if it is really cash flow neutral Sunday service should be a part of what METS provides?…the other problem is the continual losses are a drain on the city budget?…looking at these numbers to alleviate that problem the City of Evansville could consider raising the bus fare by roughly 80%?…before doing that the value that the City gets from this service in additional wages and sales tax collections needs to be figured in because as we wrote earlier, DRIVERS ARE SUBSIDIZED TOO?
IS IT TRUE that last night’s City Council meeting outside of the bus discussion was one of laughable meetings ever?…that the exchange between select City Council members, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, the City Controller, the Mayor’s attorney, and the Director of DMD was painful to watch?…that last night’s City Council meeting reminded us of the “Gong Show?”…we were stunned to hear the Mayor’s attorney to declare if he stamps the word “confidential” on any city document that the administration doesn’t have to give this information to the media or public?…the CCO hereby declares “game on” concerning Mr. Ziemer’s self appointed role of the Censorship Czar of public documents?… that public documentation belongs to the people and not to the Winnecke Administration? …we would like to remind Mr. Ziemer of the words of Thomas Jefferson that “when people fear the government we have tyranny but when government fears the people we have liberty”?…the CCO doesn’t agree with Mr. Ziemer self anointed and capricious “confidential” way of doing the people business?…we want to put the Mayor and his alleged political brain trusts on notice to get ready for a 1st amendment rights battle with the CCO?
IS IT TRUE we also want to remind the Director of DMD that he is not only an employee of the Mayor but also is an employee of City Council and the taxpayers alike?…we urge the City Council to demand that DMD Director, Mr. Hooper provide them with the requested public documents they requested from him at last night’s City Council meeting?
IS IT TRUE we are happy to hear the Evansville City Controller declared at last night city council meeting (Gong Show) that the accounting software and bookkeeping problems have been officially corrected and the city is now ready for the State Board of Accounts to come in an audit his work?
I believe the taxes I pay on the gasoline I purchase to operate my car subsidize the streets and highways I drive on
I kknow it was before the existence of CCO and probably before its current editor moved to Evansville, but at one time the Vanderburgh County Council was called, appropriately, “The Gong Show.” Then one ot its members was removed because of a state law making him ineligible because of a criminal conviction. The VC Council has made great strides since then.
For those of you too young to understand what the “Gong Show” means, look it up on the internet.
In my opinion, there are too many things marked with a security stamp, removing them from scrutiny by the general public. Events surrounding the Kennedy assassination is one example of that. There are probably things from the Civil War which are still classified. Why? not for the security and safety of “we the people.”
I disagree with CCO about METS. While I do think a thriving city should have a healthy public transportation system (or private equivalent), I also think it must either break even or make a profit like any other enterprise. Arguing that it’s ok to sink more subsidies into it because we reckon automobiles are subsidized as well is like giving up. I see no evidence of METS offsetting its budget shortfall with taxable returns.
Maybe METS could look into some promotion of their routes and partner with more local businesses to provide back and forth shuttle services to and from specific shopping centers so that regular shoppers who might like to park in one location, such as Eastland Mall, and do all their shopping there and elsewhere could hop on a shuttle bus every 10 minutes or so and also hit other major shopping center between there and the Burkhardt/Lloyd area. Maybe they already do this? If they do, you sure would never know it. That is a service even car owners might like to use, and it could seriously increase revenue if properly promoted.
Maybe something like “Why drive? Shop with METS.” or “Why battle traffic when you can relax with METS?” would make a good ad campaign to attract more casual, car-owning shuttle riders. Maybe they already have something like this, but you would never guess it. It’s not promoted in any meaningful way.
My wife is from England and never even had a driver’s license until she moved here. For the first few months she was here while studying for her license test, she would actively try to find out when and where the METS buses stopped. England must have spoiled her, because she said our system is like trying to read hieroglyphs by comparison. In cities with a well thought out system, everything is signposted and color coded and even a newcomer to the system has no problem figuring it all out in a minute or two. Not so with METS. Maybe these problems should be rectified before investing on a Sunday service gamble.
Brad sometimes people that are trying just need a little help, and that is the bottom line for me. This is a long way from the taxpayer’ s buying a hotel.
I can understand that. I’m not suggesting doing away with METS, I’m suggesting approaching it a different way so that the service goes, in part, where the money is, which I think lies in a few SHORTER shopping center shuttle service routes, so these revenues generated from the non-tradition customer (the car owner) can help offset the losses experienced elsewhere in the system.
It will be harder in the future for anyone to argue for doing away with METS if it can manage to run cost neutral or very close to it.
To amend my above comments, METS appears to have improved their maps since my wife’s experience a few years back.
http://www.evansville.in.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=10592
The problem is, many of these routes are too long to be useful to casual riders. No one who owns a car will choose the bus if the wait times are too long.
I propose a short route between Eastland Mall and the Burkhardt/Lloyd area to start with, hitting all the other shopping centers in between, i.e. the one with Burlington Coat Factory, on to Hobby Lobby/Gander Mountain, over to Best Buy, Wal-Mart, then across to Target and back to Eastland. There should be enough busses to cover this route and ensure a wait time of no more than 10 minutes. Two buses, three at most, would probably get it. It would probably run a loss for the first little while before people with cars got in the habit of using the service, but if properly marketed and implemented, it could potentially offset the losses from other routes.
Isn’t the current city attorney also the Chairpan of Board of USI?
Chaplin?
Chaiman
Fat fingers…..CHAIRMAN
No more evidence needed …Thugs are in control…and we WILL like it PERIOD!
Go get em CCO! If a legal fund is needed and established I will support it you can count on that!!
If METS is projecting greater losses in 2013, perhaps it is time for an efficiency study within the administration and operations departments. They appear to have a financial leak, or are simply spending money without considering the necessity of the expenditures or the return on investment. Taking a good look within and tightening many belts, even a tiny notch can make a huge difference.
I would like to know how they know the 2012 numbers since the city could not count during that time.
I agree! I wouldn’t listen to Rumplebeancounter! He’s probably spending countless nights in his suit cooking the books.
How many times do you see the large 50 -70 passenger buses with less than 5 people? Perhaps the thinking should be towards smaller, commuter buses carrying 15-25 people. Do we really need the Hybrid buses? Are they paying for themselves? At one time there was a big push for natural gas power. What happened? It is time the City re-thinks the entire mass transit system.
Shorter routes would appeal to more people, even if it means tranfering buses to get to a destination. There should be no cost for transfers.
METS doesn’t have anything near a 50 – 70 passenger bus. They are around 25; the hybrids have about the same capacity as the older diesels.
How about an article about the little old lady whose house the EPD broke into SWAT style? Bolin should be fired.
I understand subsidizing bus service much more then I do a hotel. I like the idea of smaller buses and routes.
The hybrid buses are a joke. But then again, so is the sitting President of the United States! Guess who came up with the damned hybrid buses?! How about the worst President since Jimmy Carter, the Messiah Himself!
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