Public Transportation - The transportation choice of last resort

TBARTA, decades in existence, 10s of millions spent and no viable product or plan yet on the street is not the answer.

St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin

It turns out that regardless of all the hype by the politicians, and the various public transportation authorities' public transportation is not all that popular with the public.

For some insight see:

BY MARC LALLANILLA, the Spruce, Updated 10/25/16 Public Transportation: eight Reasons People Hate It Our hatred of public transportation has many sources

BY MATT TINOCO IN NEWS ON MAR 25, 2016 11:05 AM
Why We Don't Take Public Transit: LAist Readers Respond

Michiko S., Palmdale

It's just more convenient to use my car to get somewhere, especially as a single mother. I can't rely on public transportation that doesn't take me directly where I want to go. Carrying things on transit, like the groceries or other errands, is also challenging.

I work for a charter school as a substitute. When I get a phone call, I have to be there ASAP. I can't stand around waiting for a bus that only might come on time. After work, I have to go pick up my kids from school right away. Again, I can't take bus for that. It takes too long.

Want to see more? Click here: Disadvantages of using public transportation.

The real problem with public transportation initiatives such as the pending bill to redo TBARTA into a taxing authority is they don't get the fact that no matter how big, how much it sparkles public transportation in the Tampa Bay areas will always remain the transportation choice of last resort.

Recently, there has been much made of the drop in rider ship on both the HART and PSTA systems. You hear a lot of hyperbole but the real issue is the economy is better, people who could not afford a car and/or gasoline now can and they opt out of public transportation as soon as it is economically feasible.

In a densely populated low height development area like much of Tampa Bay and the surrounding areas where the defining lines between residential, retail, industrial and commercial are frequently blurred, last century transportation solutions will not be cost effective.

The great goal of Janet Long, Pinellas County Commissioner, and her sidekick Senator Jack Latvala of a light-rail system running through the Bay area is just simply not feasible. It is a 1990s idea that was not a very good idea in the 90s.

TBARTA, decades in existence, 10s of millions spent and no viable product or plan yet on the street is not the answer.

Changing the name and giving them taxing authority without public oversight will just create a political nightmare of cronyism and corruption that will produce no results.

For some idea of what lies ahead check out: Caitlin Johnston, Tampa Bay Times Staff writer, Creating one transportation planning agency for all of Tampa Bay won't be easy.

For now, Governor Scott needs to let this one die or simply VETO it with a message to all those who pursue mass transit and the political contributions that go with it to come up with a plan that works and keeps the public in charge.

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Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long just can’t seem to take the heat

Long went after two of her biggest and most vocal critics Tom Rash and Barb Haselden both long-time activists in the public transit arena.

St. Petersburg Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin

As Commissioner Janet Long attempts to push her regional transit authority idea forward, dissent is mounting. See saintpetersblog, Mitch Perry, Janet Long lashes out at transit critics and my post Bay Area Regional Transit Authority – Janet Long's Dream to Tax you more.

Long has been continually frustrated by failed attempts to get a sales tax referendum passed in Pinellas County so a guaranteed flow of money will be available for pet transportation projects.

A classic example of these regional transit authorities is TBARA of which Long said, “I don’t know if you’ve been to a TBARTA board meeting, but I thought I was going to eat my brains out!” It is four hours of — excuse my expression — bullsh*t. All you do is listen to one study after another study after another presentation, and on and on. They don’t do anything!”

Well said Commissioner. And what makes you think your new taxing authority would be any different?

Long went after two of her biggest and most vocal critics Tom Rash and Barb Haselden both long-time activists in the public transit arena.

Rask and Haselden were both highly active in the failed Pinellas transit sales tax efforts and Long has never really gotten over the Greenlight debacle.

“I really paid attention when Greenlight failed,” Long says, referring to the 2014 Greenlight Pinellas transit tax that went down to defeat. “It frustrates me beyond belief when the Tom Rask‘s and Barb Haselden’s of the world — no matter how hard you try to be thoughtful, be considerate, be creative in terms of trying to provide good public transportation — they will not see anything good in what you do,” she said."

Apparently, she did pay a lot of attention to the 62% defeat of Greenlight since her primary goal is to take transit financing out of the hands of the public and put taxation power in the hands of her new state authorized “Regional Transit Authority.”

Long has a history of attacking the messenger and not getting the message. Fortunately, Rask and Haselden are not intimidated by Long’s often harsh comments and hawkish looks. They speak for many people who would not want to experience Long’s wrath.

It was unfortunate that thanks to some clever Republican Politics Long managed to get reelected. It would be nice if the Commissioner focused her efforts on issues that affect her constituency.

A lot of the work on this regional transit authority will go on just out of public view as Jack Latvala, Janet long and others work to pull the regional authority together with help from the State Legislature with little public input or scrutiny.

That’s where Tom Rask, Barb Haselden, Sharon Calvert and others come in.

Without ongoing watchfulness, this regional taxing authority will be dipping its hand into your wallet to provide “transportation options” that you do not want or need, and that will not meet the real public transportation need.

For now, the first step to any regional transit authority must be the complete and total dissolution of TBARTA and  a firm understanding that none of the TBARTA people will play any role in a new transit authority. Otherwise, the citizens will get a new tax, years of even more expensive studies and little to show for their money.

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