Transit Options
Quiz time, boys and girls!
Today's puzzle is a logic problem.
A metropolitan region has overcrowded streets and highways, high-traffic area parking shortages, increasing pollution levels and problems maintaining drivable conditions on existing roads. Meanwhile, the public transit system is facing a catastrophic budget shortfall because a large portion of its funding comes from a motor vehicle sales tax, and fewer people are buying vehicles in this depressed and unstable economy. A proposed 25-cent fare increase on most rides would offset only a small percentage of the shortfall.
The logical solution is:
A) Eliminate 28 routes entirely and reduce service on 3/4 of the remaining routes, reducing overall public transit ridership by an estimated 4 million rides per year and forcing thousands to abandon transit altogether, adding to the burden of single-occupant vehicles on the local infrastructure and environment.
B) Find new funding sources such as a sales tax and/or gasoline tax increase and not only fund public transit at current levels but increase route frequency and coverage, thereby alleviating congestion, parking woes, fossil-fuel pollution and wear and tear on area roads.
Extra credit (and a nice cold beer) for anyone who can answer the following question to my satisfaction:
Why is this even up for debate?
3 rejoinders:
Sorry, I was enjoying my cold beer and watching Dale Jr. drive round in circles when I thought I heard someone suggest raising my taxes? Hell, I didn't move out to the suburbs so some Twin Cities libruls could take more of my paycheck to pay for a loony light rail that nobody wants to ride, and take away my S-U-V! It's bad enough that I can't drive in the carpool lane without a dummy in the passenger seat. Widen 395! That's what they should be workin' on.
Freedom is on the march! Rush is Right! Bush/Cheney '04! Condi in '08! Woohoo!
OK, so do I win the cold beer? ;)
Um, my guess is no, frightwig does not win the cold beer. :-)
Go, Junior!!!!!
Actually, Frightwig does win the beer! Why? Because, upon reflection, the sort of attitude he's lampooning is exactly why there's a debate!
Go On, Spit It Out