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Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Renegade Board 

The VTA Board is acting more and more like a renegade. It does whatever it wants without regard for the needs of outlying communities, such as Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Milpitas, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Los Gatos. Representatives from San Jose monopolize the decision-making process, ignoring requests from other cities for fair representation and equitable distribution of funding.



BART and Light Rail are its two pet projects. If the relationship between SamTrans and BART is any indication, VTA is headed for trouble. Already in the hole, with projected funding falling far short of amounts needed to complete and operate the BART extension into Santa Clara County, VTA nevertheless is stubbornly forging ahead with high-cost studies in preparation for the proposed BART extension. Light Rail, which is now run using leased equipment, is sucking funds dry, while ridership is down 40%.



Regular fare hikes and layoffs of drivers together with protecting administrative jobs, service cuts, and routing changes have only added to their dismal public image and lackluster performance. The Board is out of touch with the needs of the community. It has little idea how to even run a transit agency, but behaves as if its only obligation is to acquire and spend as much public money as possible.

// posted by Penguiniator @ 11:13 AM
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