May 20th / 22nd
"County Commissioners Should Pony-Up for PART"
The irony of headlines from May 12 is inescapable. First there was the
front page of the Greensboro News & Record which proclaimed that the Triad
ranks 74th out of 100 Metro areas in access to public buses. Then, on that
same day, the Winston Salem Journal's top story was about how PART had to back
off from asking for a vehicle registration fee to maintain services,
because a majority of County Commissioners from throughout the Piedmont don't
understand the correlation between transit and economic development. These
are the same elected officials who will spend millions of taxpayer dollars to
recruit a new industry, but then contribute nothing to make sure our
workforce has access to the jobs being CREATED by that industry.
Last month the PART Board (which includes a commissioner from each county)
voted to ask the ten member counties to support a $3 per vehicle
registration fee that would be used to sustain their regional bus service. But by
last week, the plan had been scrapped after PART board members learned that
their fellow Commissioners back home wouldn't go along with a referendum to
collect the fees. Here are some facts that those timid Commissioners (and
many uneducated taxpayers) don't seem to understand:
1. PART Stimulates the Economy
PART riders will save about $3 million dollars this year on gasoline. In
turn, the money that PART riders save will remain in the local economy until
it is spent two or three times. Each time it is spent, tax revenues will
be generated, which then support other programs or possibly reduce the local
tax rate. All of this means that PART yields a return on investment. In
fact, nationwide, it is estimated that every tax dollar spent on public
transportation returns up to nine dollars in economic activity.
2. PART Saves Lives
PART riders make the roads safer for all of us. According to data supplied
by Executive Director Brent McKinney, last year, PART passengers drove 13
million fewer miles by not using their cars. Since drivers in the Triad
average 2.4 accidents every million miles of travel, that means 31 accidents
were prevented in the Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point area alone.
3. PART Creates Jobs
PART creates about 85 jobs in the private sector through its contracts for
the PART Express bus. The service is provided by American Charters based
in Winston-Salem. PART also helps to recruit new industry to the region.
Companies looking to relocate to the Piedmont want to know about the
availability of a quality workforce, and whether that workforce has access to public
transportation.
4. PART Reduces Our Dependence on Foreign Oil
A study by the Brookings Institution showed that public transportation
uses about half of the fuel that is required by cars and trucks. PART keeps
hundreds of vehicles off the roads, and that means lessening our dependence
on foreign oil, and not having to wage wars overseas to protect that oil.
The Iraq war alone has cost taxpayers over $3 Trillion dollars, and that is
money we could have spent on education and low cost healthcare.
5. PART Gets People to Work Who We Depend On
PART riders help drive our economy. Over 90% of them are employed and
depend on the PART bus to get them to work, where they make products and
provide services that we all rely upon. For example, a number of PART riders are
nurses and healthcare workers at area hospitals. Mark Bachmeier, of WFU
Baptist Medical Center told the Winston-Salem Journal, "The idea of losing
some of that capacity (bus service) is concerning to us for sure".
Now that the vehicle registration fee is off the table, PART's Board is
asking member counties to pay a direct subsidy to help sustain bus service
throughout the region. Contributions would range from $46,00 in Yadkin to
$394,00 in Guilford. Meanwhile PART is looking to raise fares to help make up
budget deficits. Both solutions are sound, and County Commissioners should
step up to the plate.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit that PART helps to underwrite
educational segments on my "Triad Today" TV show". But PART also advertises
on other TV stations, as well as in local newspapers, therefore, my
opinions aren't any less valid than, say, those of the editorial staffs of the WSJ
or the GN&R. The point is that PART provides a vital service which is
keeping people employed, stimulating our economy, and saving lives. It's time
that our elected officials recognize and support those contributions.
One way or another, we all share in the benefits of a PART ride. Now we
all need to get on board and share the costs as well.
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