City's bus service has proven its worth to community

I read the Mountain Home News article (Council Cuts Bus Service from Budget, 27 June 2007) with great interest and totally disagree with the proposal to ax public transit, our local public bus service.

I am disappointed in my city's leadership and lack of vision. It is unthinkable how you could not appropriate funds for this worthy public service.

Mountain Home is growing and any way to cut down vehicle traffic, pollution and wear and tear on our city streets should be a priority to the city, not to mention it's the right thing to do for our lower income and elderly citizens.

I think Councilman Rist was mistaken when he stated: "I have yet to talk to anyone in favor of the buses." I have e-mails addressed to city council from about a year ago that supported public transit. Less than a year ago I spoke to the honorable councilman at city hall and watched as many other citizens spoke in favor of buses. If you want real input don't look at the country club, that's the wrong place to look councilman.

Councilwoman Issac noted "…50 people in the audience and 4,000 that don't agree with it (funding Treasure Valley Transit)." I don't seem to remember 4,000 people at the meeting she was referring to, much less not agreeing. With all due respect councilwoman, you made a public statement and I request that you produce evidence to back up your statement. How do you have 4,000 that don't agree? Was there a public forum at some point? What about the other 7,300 citizens of Mountain Home? You didn't mention them… were they advocates of public transit?

Councilman Urquidi sees empty seats and feels a $2,000 increase is out of line. Well councilman, it's plain to me that you certainly do not understand mass public transit and rising fuel prices don't bother you… must be nice.

In setting the record straight, Mountain Home News referred to supporters of Treasure Valley Transit. That's wrong; at no time did the supporters mention Treasure Valley Transit. The issue was, and is, all about supporting public transit, a bus route for mass transit in the city of Mountain Home.

I manage the Transportation Incentive Program on Mountain Home Air Force Base. Ridership on the airbase route has increased 54 percent since last June. Even though the base route is subsidized by the Federal Transportation Incentive Program, a very large portion of base riders transfer to the city bus for the rest of their commute home. Don't fear city council, this is not at the city's expense.

Similarly, city bus ridership has increased to 45-50 riders a day, not bad for a city of our size. As with any transit system, ridership will peak during one time frame and lag during another. Ridership will spike and fall depending on season as well. If empty seats at any particular time of the day confound city council, perhaps they do not fully understand the concepts and processes of a mass transit system.

Last year I challenged city council to ride the bus for a day, meet riders and see firsthand how popular the city route really is. I bet not one member of the council has done so.

What the council did not mention was the fact that $27, 000 is the City's fare share, just a portion of the overall cost and federal grants pick up the bulk of the expenditure.

They also did not mention the tangible benefits this service brings to our community. It offers employment opportunities for drivers, bus maintenance and tires, oil and fuel sales, all of which are all sourced from within the Mountain Home community. Local business establishments are frequented more often with the current public transit system. All this and it provides a means of transportation for the city's youth, lower income, seniors and clients of the Department of Health and Welfare, many of which find it hard to commute without a public transit system.

Last year the city council reduced the public transit budget by over half. As a result Treasure Valley Transit had to cut back a local Transit Representative position thus reducing their ability to do advertising and community outreach.

I have 33 years of experience in the transportation carrier field and fully understand the monetary constraints when establishing a budget. Trust me when I make this announcement: a voucher system will not work and if the city wants to fund a voucher system that serves a minimum of 45-50 riders a day it will cost a lot more than $27,000 a year.

The reality is the people who are currently served will no longer have access. The economic loss to the city in fuel and maintenance as well as employee wages and benefits is significant. Once these federal funds go to another community they will not return and the loss will be permanent.

The City of Mountain Home owns, operates and maintains a golf course and airport. Call me stupid, but I'll stick my neck out here and say these facilities are frequented not by the majority of our citizens, but rather by the minority. In my humble opinion, these are albatrosses around the taxpayer's neck. Perhaps we could do a little trimming in these areas to generate a measly 27K to keep public transit alive in our great City. Wait a minute; this is where Mountain Home's rich and famous hang out, right? Let the fireworks begin.

In closing I would like to express my thanks to our Honorable Mayor. From all indications it appears he understands the benefits of a public transit system and supports this worthy program.

Last year the community demonstrated their support of public transit by the strong turnout before the city leaders. The only hope will be from the citizens of Mountain Home in continuing to plead their case before our city council.

I encourage all citizens, young and old alike to attend the next city council meeting to show support for a mass public transportation system in Mountain Home. It's your tax money!

Keith Kelser