May 6, 2008...7:43 pm
WRTA Budget Questions
Routes are being cut, modified, etc. to save the WRTA $510,000; they’re adding a new ‘flex’ route that will cost $90,000.
Joe Petty is asking for quarterly reports on passenger loads, and on if the flex route is working.
Palmieri suggests that the flex routes be spread more throughout the city. He says the trick is to make sure people see more buses on the street. “If they see them out there regularly, people will utilize them. We wonder if this goes along with his and Clancy’s declaration last week that the future of transportation lies in trains, not planes.
Haller says that while the focus is Commuter Rail, “local transportation is important too.” She says that, as things are now, WRTA is in a death spiral. We can’t be a great city without great intracity transportation, she says.
And Haller’s going to that old well that seems to be a new favorite, students riding city buses to save money. (it’s like the bell bottom comeback in the 1990s)
8:43
11 Comments
May 6, 2008 at 10:53 pm
This is all simple, really, regarding school busses;
there are federal laws which prohibit substituting “public transportation” for chartered busses.
May 7, 2008 at 9:38 am
Kate, would you be willing to cite these federal regulations?
I’m sure Boston, with their 17000 students moved by the MBTA, would be interested to hear how they’re in violation of federal law.
MA requires transportation for students who reside over a mile from their assigned school, kindergarten students and special needs students. Everything else, nearly half the transportation budget, is optional.
May 7, 2008 at 9:53 am
I went to high school in Fall River 1989-1992.
Durfee High was 4+ miles from my house. I took a city bus to and from school for a year and a half.
Durfee High had SRTA (Southeastern Regional Transit Authority) busses that would line up outside High School to take kids home, we had no yellow “school busses” at all.
May 7, 2008 at 10:52 am
How about our delegation work to change this federal (law) mandate then?? We are always hearing that federal (law) mandates are the problem but rarely do we hear anyone say that it is time that these (laws) mandates are challenged. I walked 2 + miles to junior high every day for two years and took the MBTA to high school-there was no struggle:>
May 7, 2008 at 11:17 am
Brendan,
I don’t know what the exact citation is, but I know that this is something that gets challenged all the time. The latest ruling was in January this year. It has something to do with the RTA getting an unfair advantage over private companies because they receive federal monies to minimize their costs.
IF we were to take away school buses, the RTA would not have the capacity, nor the established stops and routes to handle the transportation issues. The routes would have to be expanded, they would have to purchase more buses, which, during down times would sit idle. It is my understanding, (admittedly, I have been away from the school side for three years now) that they pay for the buses for the day, and it is their job to maximize the usage of the bus.
Regarding Boston’s transportation policies: I am confused by your statement that all of the students are tansported by public transportation.
BPS “Regular” Transportation Service:
Corner to corner service is provided by means of school bus, MBTA or combination MBTA/school bus for 37,546 Boston Public Schools students who meet the following eligibility criteria established by School Committee policy:
Grades K - 5: Student lives 1.0 mile or more from school.
Grades 6 - 8: Student lives 1.5 miles or more from school.
Grades 9 - 12: Student lives 2.0 miles or more from school.
Regular service MAY be utilized by all students, including regular education students, bilingual students, or special education students.
BPS Special Needs Service:
Door-to-Door transportation service, pursuant to the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) of each student, is provided to 3,686 students attending Boston Public schools.
125 Boston Public Schools students require door-to-door transportation in wheelchair lift equipped vehicles.
I know that here in Worcester, not all children take the bus.
This article below is a good example of our system. It is from 2007, but not sure how different it is if at all.
It also highlights the need for expediency in changing the stops and routes with a days notice because of the mobility issues we face.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-167646771.html
Not sure if all of this makes things more confusing or more clear, but will try and help.
May 7, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Well I can help you on all fronts, Kate.
The FTA citation you’re looking for is here:
http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/leg_reg_179.html
The change in the law simply allows withholding of a portion of a transit agency’s formula apportionment. The monies feed up from releasing charter service could then be applied to the WRTA. What we really need to be discussing is need. For example in my area, there is nobody who would attend West Tatnuck other than through choice who needs bussing outside of the state mandates. We all walked to that school, all year and we lost nobody. Today we’ve got buses driving a few hundred yards and crossing guards at every driveway; it’s waste, plain and simple.
I never said all Boston students, Kate. I said 17,000, which is the number Boston published in 2005. That would be around 50%.
I don’t think anyone is confused on the issue outside of a few elected officials and the administration. Neither the WRTA nor WPS transportation systems are used they way they were intended, consolidation of services would provide both the needed transportation service within state guidelines and have the added benefit of training a new generation of young people to rely on public transportation, like a real city. We should be doing this whether money is the issue or not.
May 7, 2008 at 12:54 pm
“training a new generation of young people to rely on public transportation, like a real city. We should be doing this whether money is the issue or not.”
Spot on Mr. Melican…as I have oft stated..to many Pols in this city live in the burbs aka west side which is a lovely place but not the real city..and have either no idea or have forgotten about real city living
May 7, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Paulie, I agree with Brendan’s comment you highlighted above. I do not live on the West Side, however. I am about as far southeast as you can get.
I do know public transportation can be great, having grown up in Boston. But there was no bus from my house to the elementry school I attended and I had to walk about a mile and a half each way…it seemed longer on certain days… I remember walking home in the middle of blizzards with no boots, (of course there was no advance warning of the impending storm) my knee socks fallen down, and my legs FREEEZING…my Mom didn’t have THE car that day to get me. I remember patrol leaders and I don’t think I have seen those in years.
Our house is on the other side of Rte 20 and our kids had to take a bus whether to Roosevelt or to Worcester Arts, BMS or BHS. I would have driven them, but the bus was there because there were other kids in the neighborhood going as well.
Thanks, Brendan, for the information. As I stated, I have not been involved with the school committee for a few years, but I did speak with an administrator. I didn’t have time to look up the citation.
I think we all have the same goal in mind, making
Worcester a great place to live, learn, work and play. Getting there is the interesting part that takes some unwanted or unanticipated detours, but we will get there. There are a lot of good people in this city.
I appreciate the input you have given.
May 8, 2008 at 10:11 am
Kate;
thanks for the “comeback”:>)..those cold school walks toughened you up for the blogs and city politics:>).
You were missed at last nights Worcester Event Directors Symposium…always welcome!
First beer, glass of wine or martini on me:>
Paulie
May 8, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Kate;
I am not personally against any CC..I have met most and have found them to be quite nice…huge disagreements with a few on governing but I can usually find a common ground..I come from a political family..I know the deal
I just do not believe that the city has equal representation..the toughest parts of the city..downtown, Canal District, my hood, Pleasant Street and Main South need more leaders from within..not just the Pols but neighborhood leaders..the parts of the city I mentioned are also the most mentioned when it comes to revitalizing and at the heart of the city..wouldn’t it be something if we had a State Rep or State Senator living on Chandler or in the Canal District..an at larger or two living on Main South….instead of Senator Augustus eating nightly in Boston but at the Canal District goes a long way….”people follow the people”….there seems to be a propensity for our educated to either move out of the urban core and the city all together or to the west side..not within the urban core of the city..we really have no Federal Hill, Back Bay, Beacon Hill,Bunker Hill in urban Worcester..most of the urban core is rotting..we have Crown Hill but does anyone know where this is??
I understand every urban community has it’s ills..it just seems just about all of the urban core of the city is sick here….we have one rep living amoungst us from Pleasant to Main South and up to Vernon Hill..a huge swath of the city….CC Barbara Haller..and Barbara lives right in the thick of it with Joe O’Brien in Main South…my neighborhood change and involvement has shaved years off my life..I can only wondah how Barbara & Joe survive where they do
May 9, 2008 at 9:18 am
[...] The Telegram & Gazette spammed Mike this week. Jeff Barnard pointed out that blogging for the T&G is a rip-off. This week’s best online discussion threads include this one about school funding and this one about WRTA funding. [...]
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