Soviet Leader Vladmir Lenin said, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth”. Unfortunately, sometimes once is enough. Accordingly, this letter is a response to the 10/24/08 letter by Steve Stambaugh wherein he states the ridership of BAT “is declining….down to one person per mile”.
That claim is as far opposite from facts as the claim that, “the Holocaust never happened.” The facts are that BAT ridership is constantly increasing to the extent that sometimes there remains only standing room.
Transportation is not a luxury; it is a necessity. During World War II, of which I am a veteran, General Patton and Rommel spent as much time racing for sources of fuel (necessary to keep their tanks rolling) as they did fighting each other.
Within the limitation of 400 words, I cannot state all the advantages of a public transit system for Bend and thus voting YES for measure 9-60. For one thing, thriving businesses are absolute necessities for a thriving economy. And what is necessary for a business to thrive? Customers. Regardless of its goods or services or location, a business (any business) must have customers. And the more customers, the more that business thrives.
It matters not whether young or old, whether sick, lame, or lazy, hale, hearty and ambitious – they are customers – which means all BAT riders are customers. And Mr. Stambaugh, it seems, lacks the common sense to appreciate that fact, as well as another most important fact. With no exception – absolutely none – regardless of age or how physically fit today, anyone (including Mr. Stambaugh) as of tomorrow could be dependant on transportation with handicap accommodations because of accident or injury.
As a member of the Committee for Accessible Transportation and a board member of United Senior Citizens of Bend, more than a few times I have become familiar with such an unfortunate occurrence. Every BAT bus has handicap accommodations, including a wheelchair lift.
Earl Williams, Bend
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2008.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Earl–
I’m familiar with Marx, Rommel, Patton and the Holocaust.
I am not familiar with the source of your ‘facts’ concerning ridership and your other information on BAT.
Since you claim it is good business to support BAT, would you agree that if BAT cannot sustain itself with ridership and the only way of doing so would be to burden taxpayers with a money-losing, non-profitable business, that’s not good business?
“Within the limitation of 400 words, I cannot state all the advantages of a public transit system for Bend and thus voting YES for measure 9-60.”
Mr. Williams, you are correct. 400 words is not enough to come up with a single redeeming quality of BAT. I bet you couldn’t do it with 4000 words.
BAT supporters, I need your help understanding BAT. Several people have stated how important BAT is to businesses because it gets their employees to work. However, the ridership is heavily slanted towards elderly citizens, disabled citizens, and students. Not exactly the core of the workforce.
Then there is the argument, as posed by Mr. Williams: BAT gets customers to businesses, and is therefore an economic asset to the community. But I thought that BAT was for those wayward souls who are suffering economic distress at the hands of Bush, Cheney, Walmart, or some other evil Republican contrived entity and barely have enough money to put a can of Alpo on the table for dinner let alone pay for their own transportation.
What is it BATers?
BAT is a boondoggle. It was initiated over the will of the people of Bend. There is not enough support to justify its continued operation; if there was the market would have already provided a solution. Charge $16 per ride or terminate BAT.
Your logic is completely flawed.
There are many certain things society needs, that don’t create ‘profit.’
These certain things, amazingly as INFRASTRUCTURE does, create the opportunity for business and society alike. It’s for the good of public safety, and it also builds the fabric of modern society. Building and maintaining infrastructure also creates JOBS. Hello New Deal! We need another one, if you haven’t noticed.
Even NYC, with the highest usage rate of subways and public transit in the country, ‘loses’ money and is subsidized by the government. But you can’t measure it this way.
I’m sure you don’t EVER use subsidized roads. Right? I’ve got news for you. Your gas tax doesn’t cover the full bill either. Maybe YOU should be charged $16 each time you drive YOUR car? It’s only fair, according to your logic.
Evan,
You can measure it this way. And you should. If costs are not covered by the riders, is this really the most efficient use of our tax dollars? Give me back my tax dollars. I guarantee I can find an investment vehicle that does not depreciate 90%+.
I cover the full cost of my transportation needs. Period! BAT riders don’t. I have to cover them as well.