Proponents of the proposed $573 million busway between Hartford and New Britain say it will serve 15,000 bus riders annually.
But that may not be true.
Given the tough times facing the state, it's no surprise that among the possible spending cuts that officials are eyeing are the elimination of some bus routes.
For instance, the Jobs Access Services, which subsidizes some bus routes to make it possible for workers to reach jobs at odd hours and locations, is currently reviewing all of its routes to determine which of them are low, medium or high priority. The low priority routes are likely to be cut and some of the medium priority routes may be dumped, too.
That would mean fewer bus riders.
The review is still underway so no routes are targeted yet, but the fact that they're looking likely means that the busway numbers are going to be coming down.
I hope somebody is looking closely at just who's going to use the busway. It's fine to say there are going to be thousands of riders every day, but it would be nice to see exactly where they're all coming from --- and whether all those routes are going to survive the fiscal meltdown in Hartford.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
2 comments:
Yet to see ANY analysis, either side, that creates a level of confidence by virtue of its objectivity, content, and concern for ongoing cost to the taxpayer.
But then, what is new???
why do we need either?
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