Thanks to a new law signed by California govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger this week, fare evasions will now be treated like traffic tickets.
From the article:
The bill, introduced by state Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, aims to streamline the enforcement of fare evasion citations. It is also intended to free up court dockets to handle more serious offenses, according to Migden’s office.
Leading the way in mass transit is Portland, with their 44-mile Max light-rail system. Nation wide, light rail ridership is up 11.2%, and even buses carry 4.5% more passengers, according to this article at the Economist.
Americans have not always embraced public transport. “We had people carrying signs saying `Light Rail Kills Babies’,” recalls John Inglish, head of the Utah Transit Authority[…], but even Utah’s rider ship is up 39%. Even oil rich areas are feeling the heat, with Denver, Dallas, and St. Louis struggling to expand their systems. In Salt Lake, trains became so full that the light rail suspension sank, preventing the suspended electric line from touching. Passengers had to lean the car in order to proceed!
Finally, I’ll leave you with this fun quote from the article, “Sadly, few people want to ride on buses unless they have to. In many American cities they are the transport of the poor, the drunk and the illegal. They are slow and often smelly, and come at unpredictable intervals. And when they stop, they may block traffic.
Sounds like a certain local transit authority we know!
According to the results of a MARTA audit, Muni Chief Ford did indeed abuse credit cards to the tune of $150k at his previous post. However, all funds were later repaid.
“Terms of his contract with Muni are very different, and do not afford the kind of privileges that were afforded in Atlanta,” SF Mayor Newsom said, noting he was more concerned about Ford’s job performance.
And I think that we are all a little concerned about Ford’s job performace so far.