T questions

To the editor:

According to Lawrence Transit Authority statistics, ridership is down in 2008 from 2007. Averaging 26 service days per month, the T is carrying less than 800 riders per day, if everyone takes a round trip. Expense estimates for 2009 are more than $10,000 a day. Ask these questions before approving a sales tax increase to fund the T.

¢ Is this a good idea in tough economic times?

¢ Is the current service and equipment cost-effective and efficient? Where can improvements be made?

¢ With other transportation services available to the public, can new tax revenues be spent more wisely with alternatives to the T?

¢ 2009 cost estimates are around $4 million. Are these taxes enough to cover that?

¢ Will the city be back in a year or so to ask for more money?

¢ Is the T that vital to Lawrence that it requires extraordinary funding, given it struggles to fund necessary city repairs, replacement and expenses.

The city did not ask voters to approve the T and could not find a way to include it in the budget. It bought something it could not afford. Maybe some of the amenities, like Eagle Bend, need to take second place to the real needs of the city.

Ken Meyer,
Lawrence