Commentary: Build More Public Transit Companies (Apr 8, 2009)

Excerpt: Background: In 2004, voters approved an extension of TransNet, a half-cent sales tax that was sold as a way to help fund highway and mass-transit improvements. What's changing: Several elected officials have broached the idea of using more TransNet funds to shore up the region's troubled transit operations. The future: The San Diego Association of Governments will hold a public workshop on the issue at 10 a.m. Friday, 401 B St., San Diego.

Read the rest at the link above.

What the heck is going on with the transit system in San Diego?

Why are they continuing with the idea of shifting people from driving their cars and getting into mass transit projects that never seem to be popular in this county?

There's a reason why the MTS isn't breaking even. They're running too many big buses that use a lot of fuel with few passengers inside. Cut the size of the buses in half. If there's more demand, have the bus company deploy a bus and driver on demand to meet the demand.

Remove some bus routes altogether if they're underused. Keep the routes that are in high demand. Cut the expenses until the bus company can get their funds together.

If people need a ride, they can take a taxi or a shuttle, which gets rather expensive if they're traveling far from where they live.

What we need are competetors to the mass transit bus system. We need some private enterprises that can run a public transit business without government subsides of any sort. We need some mass transit companies to opreate in the black. We need to let them set the routes, the rates, and the size of their companies.

Some can be localized to serve just for going to shopping centers in a limited range. Some can be designed just for long commutes to the work centers and back to a city. Some can try to emulate the MTS company in size.

Meanwhile, why does our half-cent sales tax have to go for more mass transit? I'm paying to get more freeways built. We need more public lanes going to North County, in fact, we need another freeway that goes from El Cajon to Ramona and Temecula that has at least two lanes in each direction. We need a freeway that goes north from where I-805 ends in Sorrento Valley to Vista and Fallbrook. We need a freeway that will go directly from Chula Vista to Campo. How about extending state highway 52 from 67 to I-8 in Lakeside. How about making state highway 54 a freeway from I-8 to state highway 125. How about another east-west freeway between state highways 52 and 56, and one between 52 and I-8, and one between state highways 94 and 54. How about another freeway that takes people out of downtown especially for Petco Park fans. How about extending state highway 67 south to the border. How about extending state highway 125 from Santee through Poway and near the Wild Animal Park. Poway doesn't want it. Our needs are greater than that city's desires. Let's turn state highway 76 into a freeway from Oceanside to I-15.

Imagine the traffic jams that it could solve.

Even better than that, how about living in homes that are close to where they work so they can avoid the long commutes from Temecula to Kearny Mesa or Downtown.

The mass transit lanes on I-15 are now open between Escondido and state highway 56. Guess what? I can't use them. Why? They're toll lanes for paying people. How do you pay? With cash? Nope. Gotta buy one of those thingamajigs from some building that I can't remember. How's that for inconvenience and a waste of our tax funds. Heck, at least you can pay to use state highway 125 with cash from Otay to 54.

Why keep wasting money on public transit. Let the private companies build their own routes and run their companies without taxpayer subsides. In the meantime, let's use our taxes to get some more freeways built.