Privatization of Mass Transit
The Southern California Transportation Action Committee applauds Supervisor Schabarum’s efforts to overhaul the mess that is our Rapid Transit District.
The RTD cannot continue as a public monopoly and disregard the transportation needs and safety of our citizens.
The rash of deaths, accidents, drug use by drivers, absenteeism, insurance fraud, driver’s license deficiencies, overtime abuse and fare-box pilfering is not only an embarrassment to the public but also, as has happened, a threat to the very lives of the users of RTD.
The answer to this multitude of problems cannot be found in some “quick-fix” plan.
SCTAC urges those responsible to investigate the opportunities available in the privatization of bus service in the County of Los Angeles.
This need not be a long drawn-out bureaucratic procedure, as there are mountains of studies and statistics readily available to prove the point that there are cost savings, better service, and safety in the form of bus service.
How many more management errors, ever-increasing costs and related negative factors must the bus-riding public endure before this ill is remedied? It is time the long-proven American free enterprise system takes over our country’s bus service.
ROBERT M. GARRICK
Executive Director
Southern California
Transportation Action Committee
Pasadena
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