 On Point Vincent Carroll, editor of the editorial pages, writes his On Point column most weekdays. He is also an author and freelance writer. Reach Vincent Carroll at carrollv@RockyMountainNews.com. |
Carroll: Undermining RTD
If you had a multibillion-dollar project whose price tag seemed poised to escalate out of control, would your first instinct be to boost labor costs?
It would? Brilliant! You too qualify for a seat in the Colorado legislature.
Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, is sponsoring a bill to eliminate a requirement that half of the Regional Transportation District’s bus service be run by private contractors. He’d replace that mandate with a 55 percent ceiling on private service, while leaving the matter exclusively up to the RTD board.
Pay no attention to those looming cutbacks on FasTracks, senator. And by all means ignore the fact that RTD is calling on outside consultants to get a handle on how far original estimates were off, as well as to assess ideas for holding down future costs.
Even under Hagedorn’s bill, of course, private operators could continue providing half of RTD’s bus service if that’s what the agency board decided. But why would lawmakers subject the board to renewed pressure from the transit union — which would dispense with private contractors altogether — at a time when every dollar in RTD’s gargantuan budget is actually going to count?
It was nearly two decades ago that lawmakers ordered RTD to contract out at least 20 percent (later raised to 50 percent)of its bus service. Without that law, which saved tens of millions of dollars in its first few years alone, the agency might not have had the revenue to build the southwest rail line, which in turn became the model touted during the FasTracks election.
Now that RTD is once again desperate for revenue, reversing course on private routes should be the last thing lawmakers want the agency to do.
Someone punch his ticket
When an e-mail by Rep. Mike Merrifield came to light that confirmed what everyone already suspected (his contempt for those who favor charter schools), he was clobbered for days by angry commentators. Fair enough. The Colorado Springs Democrat deserved it.
But after Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, admitted something far more surprising during debate late last month — that he rides RTD trains for free — hardly any critics piped up.
The Denver Post’s Dan Haley, who broke the story, might have penned the best line, wryly reminding Riesberg that “It’s an honor system.”
Or maybe that was news to the representative.
After all, Riesberg’s comments suggested he thought riders were free to use a ticket over and over if it isn’t collected. “I’ve had a RTD ticket in my pocket for years and it’s never been punched and I’ve never had to buy a second one,” he said while chiding RTD for not enforcing payment. “You don’t need to pay a fare to get on RTD.”
When shopping, does Riesberg only pause at a cash register in stores like Costco, where employees are stationed to check receipts? If he absent-mindedly walked out of Safeway without paying for a roast and no one stopped him, would that be Safeway’s fault or his?
“If money to expand their (parking) lots is an issue,” Riesberg exclaimed, “RTD could charge to ride.” Ah, but they do, Rep. Riesberg. Honestly. They do.
Reach Vincent Carroll at carrollv@RockyMountainNews.com.
It is very ironic that an editor for a newspaper that no longer prints a Sunday edition and had to enter into the Joint Operating Agreement with the rival Post to survive knows how best to operate a transportation district.
Posted by on April 11, 2007 08:23 AMVince Carroll is a shallow-thinking idealogue with a serious anger issue. Reading his column on line, you get what you pay for
Posted by on April 11, 2007 11:22 AMPeople blame the fact that businesses are leaving for Overseas let us look at why. Unions argue that they look after the little man, this isn't so, they are only intrested in themselves. If Unions where such a great idea they would realize that sometimes one must not pay extremely high wages for such unskilled labor. The same hold true for government employees. Unions have made the process cumbersome and provent streamlining.
Posted by Chris on April 11, 2007 12:07 PMFurther evidence of how the Democratic party and Big Labor are joined at the hip. Would Hagedorn agree to having Aurora the last to be served by light rail if his bill passes?
Posted by on April 11, 2007 01:16 PMLets run RTD the Carroll way and have Illegal aliens do the driving. That will keep the costs down!
Posted by Mani on April 11, 2007 07:27 PMWould you want your elderly Mom & Dad, who can no longer drive due to economics and poor health, your school age kids and young college kids on tight budgets, Your wife who saves you valuable dollars every week by commuting by bus to work, The young working poor who depend on RTD to get to
and from work, to trust their safety and security to some contract driver with minimal training and a spotty ( or fictiticious) work history, working for a minimal wage because HIS employer is the LOW BIDDER in RTD's system?
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR and if you pay for substandard labor and your house burns down due to a bad wiring job, you got what you deserved for being cheap.
Those drivers in the seats of those RTD Buses are PROFESSIONALS, just like YOU. They should be compensated accordingly as they carry your loved ones safely and effeciently wherever that need to go.
Looking to save money? Buy the house brands @ King
Sooper or Safeway or wherever you shop. RTD is the wrong place to go on the cheap. I also strongly suggest the editor learn how to run a paper without a JOA before he
try to advise the RTD Board on how to operate a transit Company.