WRTA - A Shrinking Bus System For A Shrinking City

[northside lurker]

I think that if WRTA were to stop services and shutter its doors, that would only
give people ANOTHER reason to NOT live in Youngstown...

I'm in a "wait and see" mode.  Depending on what services are cut, I'll probably have to leave the area.  Another person I ride with has already sent out resumes.

[northside lurker]

Who will pay?  Well who pays for my transportation to and from work?   Your statement is a perfect example of the entitlement mentality that has corruped this country so completely.  You actually believe that it is someone else's responsibility to provide transportation for these people.  I pay my own way and all I ask is that everyone else pay their own way.  This is how the country worked before Roosevelt's Raw Deal started us down the path of looking to everyone else to provide what they need.

You seem to have missed the point.  People who can't find work, go on welfare.  People on welfare who can't get where they need to go, get MORE welfare assistance to get them there.  This is the way it is, currently.  Wouldn't it have been more logical to pay $0.25 for every $100 you spend at the store to help support a bus system to carry those people instead of paying for them to take a taxi?

[Rick Rowlands]

Rick, if there are fewer or no buses, who will pay for the people who no longer can get to work, and find that they need to seek government assistance?  When they have to go to Jobs and Family Services in the old SS Hospital, are you willing to pay for their cab ride instead of their bus ride?

Who will pay?  Well who pays for my transportation to and from work?   Your statement is a perfect example of the entitlement mentality that has corruped this country so completely.  You actually believe that it is someone else's responsibility to provide transportation for these people.  I pay my own way and all I ask is that everyone else pay their own way.  This is how the country worked before Roosevelt's Raw Deal started us down the path of looking to everyone else to provide what they need.

I'm so tired of working my ass off and being hounded by the government at every turn taking my money to give to someone else. I don't ask for much from the government in return.  Just give me the infrastructure that I need to live my life and conduct my business.  But our country doesn't have the money for that anymore because we have to give most of it away in entitlements to fellow citizens, so not only do I have to work the first five months of the year just to pay my tax burden, but I have to look forward to rotten infrastructure everywhere I go.

[Rick Rowlands]

We can't afford WRTA.  We can't even afford basic services any more.  Two weeks ago I drove into a pothole on the west side.  Blew out my tire and bent the rim. Then I had to dodge dozens more holes as I drove home on an emergency spare. Apparently there are no patching crews in Youngstown any more?  Then we get this blizzard and Jay is waiting over 2 days for his street to be plowed.   And I am supposed to worry about if the elderly and poor can get to Southside?  Please, give me a break.  If our community cannot patch and plow the roads in the winter then we have no business running a money losing, sparsely populated municipal bus system.  We need to get back to basics.  Part of the 2010 plan is realizing that we are a smaller city, and smaller cities don't have parasitic transit authorities.  Once we can get the basic services of government under control then we can start adding these frills again, but not now. 

[AllanY2525]

I think that if WRTA were to stop services and shutter its doors, that would only
give people ANOTHER reason to NOT live in Youngstown...

If fuel prices continue to skyrocket, they ought to convert the buses to run on
natural gas.

Smaller buses also make sense.  As far as not being durable - I have a 1994 Ford E-350
Club Wagon van (built on a ONE TON PICKUP CHASSIS) which has 204,000 miles on it,
and it runs GREAT.  It holds fifteen people, but it costs me about a HUNDRED DOLLARS
to fill the tank up with gasoline.  My next van will be a diesel engine vehicle - they get
a little better mileage.

Smaller buses will hold up just FINE, provided they are adequately MAINTAINED.

[northside lurker]

My cousin used to ride the buses from Youngstown to Niles years ago. It was his only means of transportation. He had an IQ of a child , but a kinder , gentler man you would ever meet.He really looked forward to those outings .  Alot of the people  riding the buses today either are elderly, low income or don't drive for some reason. If more people rode those buses then there would be a need for them. I think when gasoline prices go up high enough more Will ride.

That is, if the system still exists...

Rick, if there are fewer or no buses, who will pay for the people who no longer can get to work, and find that they need to seek government assistance?  When they have to go to Jobs and Family Services in the old SS Hospital, are you willing to pay for their cab ride instead of their bus ride?

I asked this on Vindy.com and didn't get a real answer.  Are there any modern, progressive, successful cities that do not have a mass transportation system?

[Oldmill]

My cousin used to ride the buses from Youngstown to Niles years ago. It was his only means of transportation. He had an IQ of a child , but a kinder , gentler man you would ever meet.He really looked forward to those outings .  Alot of the people  riding the buses today either are elderly, low income or don't drive for some reason. If more people rode those buses then there would be a need for them. I think when gasoline prices go up high enough more Will ride.

[Rick Rowlands]

Once again the voters have spoken, and what they said was that THEY DONT HAVE THE MONEY! A Vindy article stated that the Dial a Ride program charges seniors $2.00 per ride.  WHAT???!!!  Why not just cart them around for free? Don't insult me by charging two dollars.  That doesn't even pay the cost to back the van out of the garage! If WRTA charged what the service costs then perhaps they could operate the service without sucking money from those of us who don't use it.  Make the users pay the true costs of hauling their butts all over town. 

I get so pissed off at the mentality of the general populace who demand that someone else should pay their way through life.  Pay for my buses, pay to send my kids to school, pay for my health care, pay, pay, pay.   Just wait and see how much more BS taxpayers will have to pay for in the next four years with socialists running the country.  But do I get any help from the government? Nooooooo.  All I get is regulation and taxes.  Property taxes goes up, then the county says I have to spend $15k to upgrade my sewer system, then my income taxes goes up, etc. 

The best thing that could be done is to scrap the entire fleet of WRTA buses and sell off the rest of the assets and shut it down.  Stop wasting our money, of which we no longer have any left.  The party is over you libs, you have milked us taxpayers dry.  THERE AIN'T NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[northside lurker]

Speaking of shrinking they could save money by shrinking the size of vehicles used. When busses came to Austintown in the evenings you could clearly see only one or two people riding

I heard Jim Ferraro Sunday night on the radio.  Based on what he said, I think it might actually be cheaper to run the big buses because of maintenance costs.  The smaller vans just aren't as durable.

Were these one or two people you speak of sitting in the front, back or both?  I ask because many people seem to choose to sit in the front first, and they are harder to see because they are much closer to the ground.

[jay]

I believe the city of Campbell at one time contracted for bus service with the WRTA.
I'm sure other cities could contract for transit services.

Do you feel there are other residents of Struthers who want bus service?

[irishbobcat]

Another thought my be instead of a county tax....if the law would allow, ask individual cities or townships to vote for bus service.
If we could bring alternative energy companies and factories to the old steel yards, you could revitalize old neighborhoods, downtown,
add a community technical college to help train workers for green collar jobs, etc...and then communities could decide to vote on bus service back to Youngstown. Living in Struthers, I wish there were better bus service so my daughter could take a bus to YSU in the winter instead of ending up in a 12 car pileup because the Youngstown road crews never took the time to clear Poland Ave and let the road turn into an ice-skating rink last week.

We will see in our lifetime mass transportation needs rise 40%. The price of gas and an aging population will cause the need such transportation.

Dennis Spisak
Independent Green Party Candidate for State Representative-60th District

campaign website Http://votespisak.tripod.com

[Why?Town]

Speaking of shrinking they could save money by shrinking the size of vehicles used. When busses came to Austintown in the evenings you could clearly see only one or two people riding

[jay]

The WRTA should make an attempt to secure volunteer funding from those suburban entities which benefit from the WRTA.  We've been told that many suburban stores benefit from customers who ride the bus from Youngstown.  Other suburban employers have hired transit dependent Youngstown residents.  These stores and employers should be willing to make a contribution to keep the WRTA running to the suburbs.  If they are not willing to help the bus service, then the WRTA should shrink its service area to provide the best service possible within the city limits of Youngstown.  Weekend bus service should also be restarted.