Monday, August 25, 2008
When I climbed aboard the Number 8 bus at 31st and Iowa, I had a hard time finding a seat. The bus was crowded with returning students, mostly international students, who carried bags of food, clothing and electronics and chatted with each other in Spanish, Urdu and Putonghua. I struck up a conversation with a marketing major from Chengdu, China, and asked him what he thought about the T, Lawrence’s bus system.
“It’s quite convenient,” he said. “I don’t know what I’d do without it.”
But he may have to do without the T if Lawrence voters do not approve a proposed sales tax increase this November, which would be genuinely unfortunate.
Next year, the T will face a million dollar operating deficit. The city commission voted to place two questions on the Nov. 4 ballot, a 0.2 percent increase in the city’s sales tax, which would supplement the T’s 2009 operating budget, and a 0.05 percent increase, which would provide funds for the eventual replacement of aging buses.
To put that into perspective, if these measures are approved, the cost of your Big Mac would increase less than a cent.
The T will be forced to shut down without this funding.
As voters consider the T’s value, they should keep in mind the benefits its proposed merger with KU’s bus system, which will result in a more efficient service. The city and the University have tentatively agreed to combine their operations by July 2009, and as a first step, all KU students can now ride free of charge on all city buses.
But this merger is contingent on whether the T can secure funding. For the plan to move forward, voters must approve the first ballot question, and perhaps the second.
The T is an invaluable asset to our community, especially to those who depend upon it as their only viable means of transportation, like many foreign students at KU.
A 2007 on-board passenger survey found that 78 percent of riders said they currently did not have an alternative vehicle available. As driving becomes more expensive, the number of people who cannot afford cars will certainly increase.
As is the case with most public transit systems, the market itself does not support the T. It is a good idea to subsidize public transportation because it does not only benefit those who purchase its services but confers tremendous advantages to the whole community.
Traffic congestion will decrease, especially around campus, more parking, and, of course, taking the bus is much better for the environment. A sales tax — a fairly regressive form of taxation — is not an ideal way to fund public transportation, but this is certainly better than the alternative of not having the system.
When you vote in November, keep the T alive.
Thompson is a Topeka senior in economics and political science.
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Comments
Thompson: Students will hurt if Lawrence loses the ‘T’
If it can't support itself, why should it suck the money from EVERYONE to operate? Clearly everyone does not use it. Otherwise, it wouldn't rely on taxpayers to keep it alive.
If I wanted this service I would gladly pay for it. And although it is a fraction of my big mac, I pay for the big mac because I want to eat it. I choose NOT to pay for the T because I - like obviously most Lawrencians - do NOT want it.
Thompson: Students will hurt if Lawrence loses the ‘T’
NO public transportation system supports itself off of user fees. No road system supports itself off of user fees. No airline supports itself off of user fees. The fact is, transportation is a money loosing business, especially when our economy has passed the risk and depreciation of vehicle ownership and replacement onto the average consumer. I would like to remind you that personal vehicles are not for everyone, but public transportation is.
The fact is that most Lawrencians "support the T" but "would never ride it" not because it isn't "for them" but because the bus routes are so inconvenient and frequencies so low that getting across town takes an hour and 40 minutes. We need to promote the "T" as something everyone can use, not just people who are forced to ride it because they do not have another way to get around. How do we do this? revise the system so it works better. Shorten routes, cut routes that have low or no ridership. Streamline meandering routes. Lower journey times to 40 minutes or half an hour. Bring frequency up to 20 or 10 minutes. Watch people actually ride the T.
Thompson: Students will hurt if Lawrence loses the ‘T’
There are benefits for the entire population here in less road congestion and less pollution, not the mention the long-term conservation of gasoline. I'm vehemently against funding stuff like arts and the museums, but I don't buy the standard libertarian line on stuff like public transportation and education. Do you think that we shouldn't fund education because you can "choose not to have kids" or "choose to homeschool your kids"? Coercion has to be accepted to a point.
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