Some frog marching needs to occur at PAT

Pittsburgh PA - As Pennsylvania State Attorney General Jack Wagner (D) continues to dig into the finances of the Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAT), more waste is being uncovered. Lucrative and very questionable payments to top executives continue to be uncovered which are "legal" but highly unethical.

Schemes such as buying back time from other public sector jobs and rolling that time into the PAT pension plan. Double dipping into the pension plan while being reimbursed, with interest, for the initial contribution into the plan. Excessive payments for moving expenses for the new Executive Director. $45 grand of taxpayer money to move??? Get real. Rent a U-Haul Steve and put you and your family to work carrying furniture.

If these things happened in private industry, you'd see key executives being taken to court, tried and convicted. In fact this does happen in private industry and many key executives did the frog march and are now cooling their heels in prison. It most likely won't happen in this case as the local politicians will try to bury this all to protect their personal hides.

Here are just two reports over the past few days dealing with the PAT situation (story 1 - story 2). Torrid tales of management in the public sector getting rich by raping the taxpayer. Oh, and guess what folks, most of the individuals involved in this waste are die-hard Democrats. You know, the party of the working man that always accuses the "evil" Republicans of doing these types of acts.

It's not just upper management, as well as the two former PAT Executive Directors, that needs to be taken to court over this either. The PAT Board of Directors needs to be hauled into court as well as they approved all this nonsense. Again, it probably won't happen as this is a government agency and politicians will be covering their butts.

What is truly sad about all of this is that it isn't limited to just PAT. This is a problem nationwide and extends far outside of the public transit industry. Almost every governmental agency has problems such as this. The misuse of pension plans and raiding the agency is far more common in the public sector than it is in the private sector but the liberal media focuses on the private sector as it tends to be where the "evil" Republicans are. Public sector management tends to have more Democrats in charge.

I have earned a new respect for Jack Wagner over his rabid determination to show the waste at PAT. It's not something I really expected from a Democrat. Maybe there is some hope for that party after all.

Proposal to replace SORTA being floated

Cincinnati OH - The Cincinnati Post reports on a proposal for a regional transit panel to replace the existing Southwest Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) board which oversees the Cincinnati Metro.

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune believes that a new panel is needed to replace SORTA, which focuses on Cincinnati, so that the entire tri-state area is covered. A daunting venture at best.

There are many problems involved in a multi-state regional system, primarily the different laws that are in place in each state. Secondly and probably more important is that you then open the agency up to accusations of favoritism of one state over another. These two issues tend to bog down multi-state operations and ultimately make the transit operation less efficient and more costly.

Dealing with different states instantly turns the process of the proposed panel that should deal with transit issues into nothing but politics. Fights over which state should benefit from funding and over revenues raised in one state being used in another state will be common. Should the smaller Northern Kentucky area and even smaller Southeastern Indiana area pay as much as Southwestern Ohio? If so, will they get the same services and if not, why should they pay more? Criticism of the board over questions like that will be common.

While I agree with Portune that SORTA is not effectively set up, his proposed regional umbrella agency will ultimately be more unwieldy and much less effective in the long term than the current SORTA set up is now.

Portune's goal is a good one, better transit that is coordinated. Much like any lofty goal however, the plan is filled with problems that will ultimately make things worse. The agency will be riddled with internal problems due to the politics of it all and that will give the new agency a public relations black eye.

In the end, it will be the rider that suffers from the politics of any multi-state regional transit board. SORTA needs looked at and streamlined but don't change it into a multi-state political boxing ring.

...the cost continues to add up

Honolulu HI - The Honolulu Advertiser reports on yet another undisclosed cost for Mayor Mufi Hannemann's legacy rail project. A $1 million dollar study to try and determine the effects of the new rail line on city services.

First off, this study should have been done prior to approving the line. The simple fact that it isn't done yet shows how poorly planned the project is. In Mufi's rush to ram his legacy through, he didn't see much of anything except a Utopian vision through his rose colored glasses.

As I mentioned in another earlier Laurels & Lances article, charges such as this are just the tip of the iceberg in regard to nickle and diming the taxpayers with additional costs that will not show up in the total cost for the rail line. Millions more of the taxpayer's money will be spent before the first spade of dirt is turned over on the project. By the time the line is opened, billions of tax dollars will have been spent on the project which will not show on the total cost of the project since they will be considered indirect costs.

Don't think this project and the nickel and diming just effects residents of Honolulu. It effects every taxpayer in the United States. Federal money is being used and Mufi is going to try and pass this latest cost off to the Federal funding which is being applied for.

The pro-rail crowd will never acknowledge things like a $500 million line can actually costs over a billion dollars when all is said and done. They ignore the non-direct costs as though they don't exist and make excuses for direct costs that were not originally reported.

These types of projects need to be much more difficult to obtain funding for. Too many cities have already or are attempting to jump on the rail bandwagon and have no clue as to the true costs. Politicians only see a personal legacy for themselves and the pro-rail crowd spins rail as though it was a gift sent from God.

People need to wake up to reality and soon.

Hybrids too costly

Fort McMurray AB - I came across a news story from the Fort McMurray Today news site which I found interesting. It is basically a discussion over hybrid buses and the costs to buy and operate. It is especially interesting as this is a very small operation and one mistake can prove very costly.

The debate in Fort McMurray revolves around the recent purchase of 3 diesel buses which the city opted for rather than purchasing 1 hybrid bus and 1 diesel. Mayor Melissa Blake correctly stated "In the end, you simply can’t justify the hybrid bus when we can get two (regular) buses for the same price". However, Councilor Carolyn Slade insists that the hybrid would save money in the long term.

Sorry Ms. Slade, the hybrid won't do anything except raise your long term costs to operate, especially given the Canadian tendency to hang onto buses for 20 to 30 years. The current hybrid technology still is in its infancy and has not been proven over a long period. Considering the fact that most manufacturers stop producing parts for buses now after 10 years, how in the world are you going to get the parts for it when the bus is 20 plus years old? Many buses today in the United States (including those manufactured by Canadian firms) wear out before their 12 years old and many get scrapped because you can't get the electronics for them any longer.

This rush to jump on the environmentalist bandwagon by transit systems is going to prove costly in the long term, especially for small systems like Fort McMurray. Clean diesel technology works well and is far less costly in both the short and long term for purchasing and maintaining. Replacing Fort McMurray's diesel fleet with hybrids won't make any difference at all in the air quality but it will hurt the finances of the transit system from the purchase date all the way through the life cycle of the bus.

In addition, hybrids actually cause more damage to the environment to manufacture and dispose of than does the lowly diesel. That's a dirty little secret that the enviro-weenies that are trying to price public transit out of existence don't want you to know.

As far as efficiency, the much touted mileage and fuel savings are greatly exaggerated. You save more petroleum fuel by switching to bio-diesel than you do by paying for hybrid technology. Not to say bio-diesel is the best choice out there as it has its issues as well but it is far cheaper in the long term than buying a hybrid bus and having to maintain it.

Mayor Melissa Blake earns a Laurel for taking her position as the steward of the taxpayer's money seriously and making the right choice. Those 3 diesel buses will serve the city better as it will allow more people to benefit and it cost less in both the short and long term than rushing out to jump on the enviro-bandwagon with hybrid buses.

This shouldn't surprise anyone

Miami Fl - The Miami Herald reported on the recent firing of Roosevelt Bradley, head of the Miami-Dade Metro. The scandals swirling around Bradley shouldn't surprise anyone out there since this type of situation is all too common within public transit circles.

One scandal involved consultants. It's hard to blame Bradley or any other head of public transit on this one. Consultants routinely pull the bait and switch once they are contracted and there isn't much you can do since the consultants on transit projects pretty much have free reign during their contract and the officials in charge rarely will force their hand since they have little clue as to what the consultants are talking about. Consultants are perhaps the worst problem public transit has for inflating prices.

Another scandal involves nepotism. An age old problem and it's not limited to the public sector. In a public agency however, it shouldn't be allowed but the practice is often ignored to the detriment of the bottom line of the operation. Friends, family, former colleagues often follow new managers into the public agencies and many aren't qualified.

What Bradley did was actually no different than what occurs in most medium to large transit systems. Questionable contracts and nepotism? That seems to be the status-quo for public transit these days (as well as any public agency). Bradley was just unfortunate and got caught at it. I guess he needed more practice of being at the top before actually playing the game.

The scandal plauged PVTA in even more trouble

Springfield MA - The scandal plagued Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) of Springfield MA is in even more trouble. In the Boston Herald, a story on a recent audit of the operation that shows accounting errors totalling over $10 million dollars. These clerical errors could result in the PVTA owing the Feds more than $4 million dollars in refunds.

The PVTA has become a total disaster. Various criminal probes into its activities and now this, all trust in this government agency is gone. Even with a new executive director who is attempting to reverse the view of the PVTA, the agency will never regain the trust of the public. It will always be viewed as a scandal plagued agency and there probably will be more surprises coming up from the total mismanagement of the operation.

The best thing that could be done is to dissolve the current PVTA and create a new agency with a brand new administration. A new name, new leadership and new outlook on providing service may bring back some of the trust of the public in Springfield's transit system.

The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority has earned the honor of receiving the Chambersburg Transit Authority award from Laurels & Lances for having a royally screwed up transit system.

An editorial that is somewhere in outer space

Philadelphia PA - In an editorial by The News of Delaware County regarding Philadelphia's SEPTA transit operation, it seems that the editorial writer is blind, deaf and dumb to what is occurring around him.

The writer calls on SEPTA to look at Chicago to see how to run a transit system. Excuse me while I laugh.

Is he referring to the same Chicago transit operation that is facing a multi-million dollar deficit? The same operation that was blasted in an audit for poor performance? The same operation that is under fire for totally filthy buses and rail vehicles? The same operation that is under fire for poor maintenance and poor handling of emergencies on the system?

Editorials such as the poorly written one in The News of Delaware County show how out of touch with reality today's newspaper editors are. They do no research before mouthing off and as in this example, make complete fools out of themselves.

Telling one screwed up transit system to look at and model itself after a transit system that is in worse shape is irresponsible. It shows why newspapers are dropping off circulation. You just can't believe what is said in them.

To the editorial writer of that fluff piece, you'd do your readership well if you stopped writing. Given that you had no clue what you were talking about, your only confusing people and giving them bad advice.

The never mentioned costs start to add up

Honolulu HI - The proposed rapid transit line in Honolulu hasn't been approved for even a month and the costs start to rise as expenditures that were never presented to the public to consider begin to take hold. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports on the first of many hidden costs for Honolulu's yet to be built rail line.

The Mayor, Mufi Hannemann, has requested $4.1 million to create a Rapid Transit Office as part of the Federal requirements to obtain funding for the rail line. This $4.1 million is just for the first year and it is a department that will never go away (i.e. bigger government has just been created and you get to pay for it). This is just the start of the nickel and diming of the taxpayers for this particular project.

It is important to note that these various hidden costs happen in every city in the US that is building a government project. It is magnified in a transportation project simply because mass transit is expensive to build and operate.

From various proposals I have read over the years, there are hundreds of millions in various charges that are never presented in the proposals. This type of charge is one of them as it is not a direct cost associated with the project. The taxpayer ends up footing the bill of course and they have no choice in the matter at this point since the plan is approved and the project is under way.

The public needs to start asking the tough questions when expensive government projects come up. The public needs to automatically assume that the project will be at least 1/3 over the budget that the TA and government officials report and there will be at least a minimum of $100 million more that they will be responsible for paying through their taxes on top of that from related expenses not included in the proposal. Items such as offices, sweetheart development deals and even plain old graft and corruption.

The public needs to wake up to the fact that they are not getting a bargain but are getting their pockets picked by the pro-rail crowd and politicians looking for a legacy. They need to question if they really need such a project and do the research. Don't trust what the supporters tell you as they have an agenda to push the project. If the project is beneficial, go for it but in most cases you'll find that the rail line or other transit project has little to do with public transportation and more to do with politics, Utopian visions and political legacies.

I will be following this Honolulu rail project rather closely and when all is said and done, I predict my numbers listed above will be right on the mark.

Honolulu takes positive step

Honolulu HI - The Honolulu Advertiser reports that Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou has introduced a bill to bar any company that has had any corruption charges from being able to secure work on the recently approved mass transit project for the area.

A wise move. You can call me a skeptic but I've seen enough corruption over the decades, especially when it comes to expensive transit projects, that I question most every project that comes up. Djou's proposed bill would help keep the project on the up and up.

Now don't be fooled however. It won't reduce the cost of building the planned rapid transit line and in fact may actually cost the taxpayers more money. It's hard to say at this point in time but I am positive that it won't reduce costs. There will still be cost over runs on the project as well as unexpected expenditures.

The positive thing will be that the companies getting the work will be clean and without a history of bid rigging and corruption. It is important that the highly polarized project be viewed as being built with reputable companies.

While Djou's bill, if enacted, may be defeated in the courts, it sends a the needed message to the taxpayers that those that have been elected to run Honolulu don't want this project to be plagued by corruption charges.

A Laurel goes to Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou for putting forth the effort to keep this polarizing project on the up and up.

Public transit needs to be based on reality

Detroit MI - An editorial out of the Detroit Free Press states well what is needed all across North America. Transit needs to be based on reality. While looking at the public transportation issues of Detroit, this editorial could easily apply to almost any city.

From a paper that is usually rather Liberal in its views, they took a rather Conservative stance on the public transportation needs of Detroit. Calling for buses rather than expensive rail lines as well as taking a swipe at the union and at the Democrats, this editorial clearly states what needs to be done to improve public transit in the region.

A few things in the editorial stood out to me. One was that the lie of the "heavy ridership that will result if a transit project is built" was exposed, much to the chagrin of the pro-rail crowd. One look at the Detroit People Mover, the futuristic transit project that was to turn Detroit into a world-class city, shows how wrong these projected ridership figures can be. The People Mover should be 75,000 riders a day but in reality it is lucky it hauls 8,000 a day and I'm willing to bet that 8,000 figure has been tweaked to the high side.

Another point that stood out was that the editorial writer worries about government and transit planners being seduced by glamorous rail system. Well it's too late, they have been. There is even a contest going on currently to design the future of transportation in Detroit where they specify it has to be rail oriented. The winners of this contest will have their expensive rail plan pushed at the expense of a far more economical and flexible bus operation.

If public transit is to survive, it must be viewed realistically. It must run efficiently and effectively. Planning needs to be done in the form of considering that people are not going to want to give up their cars. Even glamorous rail systems can't pull people away from their cars.

Currently, planning is done using hopes and dreams of what it could be like in a Utopian society. In other words, gambling taxpayer money that they'll get a royal flush rather than a pair of 2's. This is not creating an effective or efficient operation.

Let's face it, it's a well known and proven fact that public transit is expensive and becoming more expensive every day. Transit systems need to become more effective and efficient if they are to survive. The politicians and so-called transit loving activists need to wake up to reality that rail isn't the answer to the problems. A well run bus system is much more effective and efficient but few want to promote this. They'd rather gamble billions of taxpayer dollars on expensive toys in the hope it will entice people to use it in addition to the development factor that many cities also gamble our money on. Then they cry when fares go up and routes get cut to pay for the toy they wanted.

Yes, public transit needs to be based on reality. The future of it depends on proper planning to create an effective and efficient operation. If things keep going in the direction they are headed, public transit will become a dismal footnote in the annals of time.