Greenville Transit

[g-man430]

IMPORTANT REMINDER !!

There is a meeting tonight at 5:00 pm at Furman University Center's Watkins Room to discuss the Gville-TR Tram Line. Carlton Owens is conducting it.

Can someone attend and post notes? I can't get away fom work !

Your wish is my command. I'm going to the meeting tonight and plan to take notes.

[vicupstate]

Your wish is my command. I'm going to the meeting tonight and plan to take notes.

Muchas Gracius !!

[g-man430]

^^^Denada. Check the rails-to-trails thread for information me and linkerjpatrick posted about what Carlton Owens said.

[g-man430]

Not only is the GTA in a budget short-fall, but the bus drivers are now getting revenge for either getting laid off or pay cut and slamming buses into cars: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...NEWS01/70130010

-Coincedince there is a Nationwide advertisement on the side of that bus? I think not. "Life comes at you fast" is soo true in this situation.

Edited January 31, 2007 by g-man430

[g-man430]

I told you the GTA was stupid, has no friends, idiotic, self-centered, etc.: http://www.wyff4.com/news/10882565/detail.html What is your opinion on all of this?

-The GTA is managed by an outside contractor in San Antonio, yet the GTA doesn't even know what their role is.

[Spartan]

Where in that article did you get that GTA was stupid, no friends, idiotic, and self centered?

It said that particular GTA board member hadn't seen the contract. Leave it to the TV media to give an unclear report. The article from the Gville News was much better. I'll say once again, If GTA had money, its service wouldn't be an issue.

I have a suspicion that they will have to cancel GTA altogether before Greenville realizes its mistake.

[silverseale]

Don't question my statement gman, just do it. You are more guilty of it than most.

Here's my question to you RT, and to everyone: If GTA was more convenient (in terms of hours of operation, destinations, and frequency of busses) would you ride?

I *have* ridden it on 2 or 3 occasions within the past couple of years, when my car was broken down or in the shop. But my office is, let's say, a "healthy walk" from the nearest stop. If a bus stopped a bit closer, I'd be more than glad to ride it to and from work every day. My limited experience with it has been that it's clean and safe, and the fellow riders are nice folks.

Covered bus stops would be nice, too--as someone who usually has a choice about how to get to work, I can tell you I'm not going to willingly stand out in the rain waiting on a bus if I don't have to. Sure, covered stops cost money, but it's also a question of respecting your (potential) customer--you're going to get a better class of rider by upgrading "the experience" of being a transit user.

[g-man430]

^^^ I actually think that is a good idea that they get rid of GTA if CAT comes in and takes over. This post is intended for Spartan, not Silverseale.

Where in that article did you get that GTA was stupid, no friends, idiotic, and self centered?

It doesn't, but isn't it obvious they are? Why are you sticking up for them, Spartan? It's their mistake and their fault they're in this situation and they deserve to be called names for letting it get this bad.

Edited January 31, 2007 by g-man430

[Greenville]

^^^ I actually think that is a good idea that they get rid of GTA if CAT comes in and takes over. This post is intended for Spartan, not Silverseale.

It doesn't, but isn't it obvious they are? Why are you sticking up for them, Spartan? It's their mistake and their fault they're in this situation and they deserve to be called names for letting it get this bad.

I'm not saying that GTA is free of internal issues or management problems, but any such problems are very minor in comparison to the main problem - and that is funding. GTA is way underfunded. Look at the public transportation budgets for cities in the Southeast, and what you will likely see is that most have far more budgeted than Greenville does. I would not be surprised if many smaller metros even have more allocated than we do.

These task force meetings are great, because they are getting their ducks in a row internally to prepare for an increase in funding. That way, when taxes are raised or more public funds are given to GTA, the public can have confidence that the leadership is there. Knowing that the city and county are fully behind GTA will help as well. I would like to think that everyone involved sees this reshuffling of GTA as a great opportunity to improve public transportation in Greenville...especially with the multi-modal center at Pleasantburg and I-385 just on the horizon.

[Spartan]

^^^ I actually think that is a good idea that they get rid of GTA if CAT comes in and takes over. This post is intended for Spartan, not Silverseale.

It doesn't, but isn't it obvious they are? Why are you sticking up for them, Spartan? It's their mistake and their fault they're in this situation and they deserve to be called names for letting it get this bad.

Gman- I have done a lot of research on this issue, and I have based my opinions on that. Your comments have no basis so far as I can tell. You are just saying things for the sake of saying them.

CAT is over extended as it is, and many people question whether its expanded state today (serving Seneca and other areas) is really serving the students of Clemson (which is its sole purpose anyway). It shouldn't be CAT's responsibility to pick up Greenville's slack. CAT in Greenville would be a bad idea, and not politically feasable. Greenville is the most populous county in the state, and I'm certain that they can come up with more than enough money to do the same things that CAT is doing. The problem that I see is that the City and County don't want to pay up.

What you fail to understand here is that its not GTA's fault that they are in this situation. People talk about mismanagement, but where is that happening? I have yet to see any evidence of any mismanagement. Its the City and the County's fault because they have failed to provide enough funds to keep the system working properly. But nobody cares to make them accountable. They can change the management out if they want to, but if the system still doesn't get any money its just going to continue to exist as it does today. Nobody on the council of either the City or County wants to own up to the fact that they screwed up. Not sure why, but thats how I'm seeing it.

-Transit systems that serve areas with an urban area population of under 200,000 get a substantial subsidy from the federal government for operating costs. So, CAT, SPARTA, ECT each get this subsidy (for example, I think SPARTA gets around $400k). Greenville crossed that 200k population mark a long time ago, and they have not replaced the source of those operating funds. In fact, you are seeing simialr problems in Columbia and Charleston- so its not just a Greenville issue.

[g-man430]

^^^If there aren't mis-management issues with GTA then why is Butch Kirven and Knox White saying there is?

[RestedTraveler]

Could it be the U.P. Effect again? WYFF did a story on the news at 6:00pm about GTA vs. CAT.

[g-man430]

^^^I missed it. What did they say?

[RestedTraveler]

^^^I missed it. What did they say?

They just spoke briefly about the GTA's financial struggles and cited that a model of success is located just down the road. Then they discussed why CAT is so successful and dependable and doesn't charge any fares and then interviewed CAT's administrator. He seems to think that the same principles they employ for CAT would work for GTA as well. Look for the same story to be on again at 11pm, if the weather doesn't dominate that news cast.

[g-man430]

^^^Very interesting. Expect the weather to take up a big chunk of news time though.

Edited February 1, 2007 by g-man430

[Spartan]

Haven't you noticed that they keep talking about "mismanagement" but then they don't mention what exactly that mismanagement is? Then they move into their financial situation.

If GTA can successfully adopt a model like CAT, then more power to them. I hope they can pull it off. I just don't think its possible. Clemson's situation is fundamentally different than Greenville's.

[motonenterprises]

I would use the transit system if it would come out to Simpsonville. GTA is currently serving mostly lower income folks, maybe they should consider adding the suburbs. It makes more sense to me and it lowers pollution.

Edited February 2, 2007 by motonenterprises

[Fiddlestix]

Haven't you noticed that they keep talking about "mismanagement" but then they don't mention what exactly that mismanagement is? Then they move into their financial situation.

BINGO!

Read this story and you'll see that they're making up crap as they go along. The allegations I have heard are patently false...again as you'll see in this article:

BUSted! -- Greenville's Public Transportation Service Is In Crisis...Again.

Link: http://www.metrobeat.net/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid:4289

As for a lack of vision, I think the problem is not with the current management (though, for all intents and purposes, they're as good as out the door when their contract expires later this year). And I'm not sure it's a conscious lapse on anyone's part. It's basically just never been the express responsibility of any group that also controls the pursestrings. Then again, here's a column that isn't quite as generous:

Come On And Take A Free Ride

Link: http://www.metrobeat.net/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid:4296

And the fervor and aggressiveness with which they're going after GTA management and Judy Dudley begs the question: who is profiting from punching buttons over at GTA and how is it that they are profiting?

Edited February 3, 2007 by Fiddlestix

[g-man430]

^^^Wow, I was wrong. No wait, the mayor and county council chairman were wrong and I believed them, but now I don't after reading that. Actually, this is a very good thing there aren't mis-management issues. I don't see why the city and county of Greenville keep saying there are though. It's really weird, I think. Just give them the money to continue running and then everybody will be happy. What's so hard about that?

Edited February 3, 2007 by g-man430

[Spartan]

Great articles fiddlestix. They do a great job of stating the situation much better than the Greenville News has to this point. More importantly they reinforce what Ive been arguing for the past week.

This quote says it all, IMO:

"What GTA needs - what Greenville County needs - are politicians who have the vision and cojones to make GTA work for all of Greenville County. There needs to be a major capital investment in a new fleet. And bus lines need to be drawn to pull in riders from all across the county, instead of providing the matrons of Augusta Road access to maids and nannies."

[silverseale]

The Greenville News' Jeanne Brooks blogged about GTA the other day and posted a link so people could look at a map to see GTA's current coverage. One improvement (IMO) within the City limits jumped out at me right away: On the Overbrook route, that bus needs to go up Lowndes Hill Rd. for a ways, starting where Lowndes Hill forks off of E. North St. near Stone Ave., to Keith Dr. Then, it should turn left on Keith Dr. and proceed to E. North St.

By making that small change, it would (1) be easier to transfer from the Jesse Jackson Townhomes Route to the Overbrook route, and (2) make it more convenient for riders from the neighborhood to catch a bus. In addition to the Overbrook people, that general area includes Arcadia Hills, Magnolia Run Apts. and Stonesthrow Apts.

Added: there are also some government offices on Century Dr. very close by my proposed change, that people would want/need to get to easily, such as the SC Dept. of Revenue.

Edited February 3, 2007 by silverseale

[Spartan]

How about a link?

[Spartan]

^ I hope its not the system map on the GTA website. That map is horribly out of date.

[g-man430]

I especially think Spartan would find this interesting. No "material weaknesses" found in GTA. More info: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...EWS01/702040327 Thoughts and opinions on this issue.

Edited February 4, 2007 by g-man430

[Spartan]

That article says exactly what I've been saying. The problem is a lack of financial support from the City and County. When you have no money to work with you have to keep track of every penny that you have. Its pretty cut and dry to me. This is a political mismanagement, and Greenville's politicians have done a great job of screwing things up for GTA and Greenville.