Transit Advocates Slam New Ride-On Cutbacks
County Urged to Drop Overpriced, Unneeded Garage Instead
ACT Backs Ending of Wasteful, Ineffective Pedestrian Safety Program
Press Release Issued April 28, 2010
Transit advocates today denounced additional cuts in Ride-On bus service proposed last Thursday. In a letter to the County Council, the Action Committee for Transit pointed out that the latest round of service cuts falls entirely on transit riders and not on drivers.
ACT urged the council to restore all Ride-On cuts and obtain the needed money by scaling back the $80 million underground garage proposed for Lot 31, across from Barnes and Noble in Bethesda. As ACT pointed out in detail last November, this overpriced garage will largely sit empty. As the county Parking Division's own photo shows, the garage across the street does not fill up during working hours:
Need for the parking in the area will decline further when the Purple Line opens. "An $80 million boondoggle is unacceptable in a year when Ride-On and many other vital services are being cut," commented ACT president Ben Ross.
ACT endorsed a second cut proposed last week, elimination of the county's pedestrian safety program. "This program has largely been a waste of money, and its main purpose is to disguise MCDOT's refusal to change its anti-pedestrian policies," the organization's letter stated.