Montgomery Bus System In Trouble

I remember a time when Montgomery had no bus system. In fact, I recall attending the early planning sessions and arguing against trying to reinstate a publicly funded, citywide bus system. My argument was that the system was far too expensive and that, in order to actually attract riders, taxpayers would have to pick up the rest.

Now we find out that I was right. In fact, bus riders only provide about $700k into the system from fares, while taxpayers have to provide the rest of the $6.7 million. You got that, right? Bus riders only pay $1 per ride, but that ride actually costs close to $10. If that's not reason enough to ditch the system, population growth in the city means we may lose a federal subsidy, and thus have to raise local taxes to compensate.
http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=14251471

While taking the bus may be inexpensive, running the system is not. Mayor Todd Strange says it costs $6.7 million to run the system, but it brings in only $700,000 in revenue. Strange said that means MATS is running a deficit of $6 million. Strange said the system is limited in its efforts to raise revenue.

And the mayor is concerned that the city's growth could actually hurt when it comes to transit funding. Since the city now has more than 200,000 residents, it could lose a $3 million subsidy that helps pay for transit in smaller cities.

The system isn't cost effective, and it forces non-riders to pay far too much... while riders scoot by almost free.

But city leaders at the time were blinded by the concept of a citywide bus service, and ignored the harsh realities. They COULD have pursued private-sector options, but they didn't even try. So now we have a bus system that we can't afford to run.