So I think we hear that property tax payers bear the burden of both road building and the bus system.
A few points: Just to be clear, the school system does not provide "dedicated buses" to middle and high school students. The yellow school buses only serve elementary school students. Where I grew up, the school system provided bus service to all K-12 students, so I would argue that in Madison, the cost of transporting middle- and high-school kids has for the most part been taken off the property tax and put on parents, at about $15-20/mo for each student. For low income families, that's significant. Bus riders keep vehicles off the streets, and so reduce congestion and free up parking. This is clearly a benefit to those who drive. The same goes for air pollution and fuel consumption, although that equation depends on having a lot of people utilizing the buses. I disagree that there is any non-essential school bloat; to quote a cliche, if you think education is expensive try ignorance. Madison's schools have been cut more than enough, especially since the percentage of low income and special needs kids has been steadily rising. Under funding of public schools, especially for those serving the poor something in America should be ashamed of, and leaves the nation unprepared to meet the future. As for green buses and light rail, three facts argue for making serious investments so that public transit ridership increases significantly: 1) the isthmus corridor is over capacity for cars, and there is no cheap or fair way to restructure roads to increase that capacity; 2) Dane County is about to be designated as an air pollution non-attainment area" with respect to fine particulates, and this is driven in part by the growing number of cars. This designation makes it more expensive for new businesses to locate here and for existing ones to expand since they will have to buy offsets. There is also a price to paid in health costs - both of my kids have had asthma symptoms (my son carries an inhaler), and there is a known relationship between fine particle pollution and asthma; 3) climate change, despite what Fox News, Exxon and Peabody Coal would have you believe, is a serious and real threat, and it is likely that restrictions on carbon emissions will be forthcoming. Building and encouraging use of public transit systems is a critical element - we have to begin building around our transit systems so that they work for people. And don't get me started on oil imports as the root of our trade deficit. Fare increases? Hell no! Harry Read _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
