Robin's commentary...
The next proposed route for the EmX [and increase vehicle congestion]is the West 6th & West 7th to West 11th.
The question that was asked of LTD is why can't you just use the buses that you already have and not build a special bus route.
To sum up their answer... Federal [tax] dollars are predominately earmarked for capital projects and cannot be reallocated to enhance existing bus service which is largely funded by local payroll taxes [advertising,ridership,etc.] which is impacted by the local economy.
so my opinion, the bottom line is that they're not trying to implement the service in order to improve transportation, it is because the carrot of federal money is hanging out there for them to go after.
But remember, no matter what the source of the funding whether it be federal or state, ultimately it comes from the same source.
1 comment:
Robin, be thankful that all of the things on their wish list haven't happened yet. I came across this little study on the feasibility of light rail that LTD commissioned a few years ago. The conclusion was that Eugene is still too small and spead out to push for the "Full Monty" but don't think that they have abandoned the idea.
My guess is one of the main driving forces behind these stupid EMX buses is the confiscation or right away and the building of platforms that could be conveniently converted to light rail stops.
You may want to look at the study if you haven't already here is a link to the study and below is a quote from page IX of the study that I found informative:
"Based on these conclusion, this study recommends that the region act now to implement parking, land use and transit policies that will help increase future ridership potential and help ensure feasibility of urban rail in the future. These policies include:
Make long-term parking less available by not increasing the supply and /or increasing the cost in downtown Eugene-Springfield, U of O campus, medical centers, Riverfront Research Park and other major employment areas. Parking alternatives, including peripheral or satellite parking and additional park and ride capacity, should be pursued. Higher parking costs and longer walking distances to parking are key factors that increase transit use."
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