Mark Snyder said a couple of things that I think may not be correct. He doesn't like the idea of transit being privatized. The idea of competitive contracting is an alternative, where MT would set standards and let private companies do the work, subsidizing to a lesser degree than for regular MT operations. MT already contracts out some routes.
He talked about how MT won the bidding against private companies for operating the lrt. He thinks that it's because they weren't willing to accept a profit margin low enough to compete with MT. That's probably true because they owe a duty to their shareholders to make a profit, while MT can lose money. MT can also divide up their overhead costs between all of their operations so as to favor lrt. I also wonder whether the private companies had an option to cut back on service if the ridership wasn't up to predictions, while I seem to remember that the news article talking about the results of the bidding said that MT coould always reduce service, as they do with buses. But I didn't see the details of the RFP or the bids. He also says that the government-run Minnesotacare has administrative costs of 2% while he says that the non-profit HMOs get more than 10%. I don't remember reading such high figures for the HMOs in the news reports on their annual filings. Of course, some people claim that costs are being hidden. In addition, isn't MinnesotaCare actually administered by HMOs such as HealthPartners ? The question of high cost consultants is a good one. Look to the portion of the lrt budget that went to consultants. Visit www.EffectiveTransit.org The Independent Unsubsidized Voice of Citizens for Effective Transit in the Twin Cities (no lrt) * lrt isn't a potato chip, you can stop at just one * Bruce Gaarder Highland Park Saint Paul MN [EMAIL PROTECTED] REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
