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Oliveira: Why maintaining the T is moral issue

By Patrick De Oliveira

Monday, November 3, 2008

On weekday afternoons, Robert Berryhill can be seen at the corner of Massachusetts and Ninth streets waiting to board the No. 6 bus of Lawrence’s bus system, commonly known as the T. Berryhill lives close to the bus stop at Sixth and Kasold streets and has to make his way to and from Haskell University, located across town from where he lives, where he has worked in food service for 14 years.

Berryhill used to have a car, but it broke down the day KU made it to the Final Four. Because Berryhill couldn’t afford to fix his car, he had to find an alternative.

“If they hadn’t made that bus system, I would’ve been in a world of hurt,” Berryhill said.

Now he and his daughters take the T everywhere. His only complaint is that it doesn’t run on Sundays and later at night. But he can live with it, especially since he discovered the joy of meeting new people in the bus.

And he has met plenty of others just like him; people who rely on the T to get to their jobs and who need it to live normal and dignified lives.

According to a 2007 ridership survey, 46 percent of the riders said they had a household that made less than $15,000 per year. Seventy percent had an income below $25,000.

Many cannot afford to drive, and they need their jobs.

But soon they might not be able to rely on the T. The city is putting to vote on Nov. 4, propositions 2 and 3, which would increase the sales tax by a quarter of a percent in order to maintain the T. That is a quarter of a cent for every dollar you spend.

It is doubtful the T will survive if those propositions are not approved.

What happens to people like Berryhill if the propositions don’t pass? What alternatives do they have? Finding another job they can get isn’t easy, especially in these hard economic times.

Berryhill is honest. He said before his car broke down, he didn’t care about the T at all. But once he didn’t have an alternative, he realized the importance of the service.

It’s time for all of those who oppose supporting the T to realize it too.

Opponents of the propositions argue that they shouldn’t have to pay taxes for a service they won’t use. But if the government collects taxes to maintain roads, shouldn’t it at least provide the means for underprivileged people to use these roads?

Not doing so constitutes the de facto segregation of those who cannot drive an automobile because they are unable to benefit from a service that the government provides for others.

At its root, maintaining the T is not a financial question but a moral question. People who take the T include senior citizens, people with disabilities, kids who haven’t yet reached the driving age and those who can’t afford a car. These are people who also require some form of transportation to get to their jobs, to meet their friends at the park, to go to the movies — in essence, to live.

That is why the T should be supported. It prevents a considerable segment of the population — people like Berryhill — from becoming marginalized. So, on Nov. 4, put yourself in the shoes of those who cannot afford an automobile.

Then cast your vote.

— — Oliveira is a Belo Horizonte, Brazil, senior in jouralism, history and peace and conflict studies. He is the associate opinion editor.

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