Saturday, October 04, 2008

Transit Boondoggle

The people in Noblesville, Fishers and Hamilton County in general or anyone else for that matter can decide for themselves to have bus service to anywhere they want right now.  They don't have to wait for someone else to deliver a train to their doors.  Any bus system created could be coordinated with Indy routes to permit connectivity.  So, why haven’t the people of Hamilton County demanded that their elected officials provide transit?  The reality is that the demand is low. Just because a couple of hundred people ride a few buses doesn't mean that there is some pent up demand for transit. 

Furthermore, for Indianapolis to even be considering spending any money on a separate transit system for commuters in Fishers is ridiculous when no funding is now available to repair, extend and link the existing multi-modal transportation options.  When Indygo has, just within the last year, provided signs identifying bus route stops (by number, and still has an innumerable amount of bus stops without bus stop pads and/or sidewalk links, it is criminal to even be discussing spending hundreds of millions of dollars for a train to carry a few thousand (if they are lucky) passengers while these other needs remain unmet.

Frankly, if the people in Hamilton County are that concerned about the cost of their commute, they have the option of moving into many stable neighborhoods where they could make use of the existing bus system, walk and/or bike to work.  They have a choice.  A 160- million dollar train is a bailout for their poor choices.

No comments: