This operation is probably the biggest govt scam in Austin. I remember when they shoved the mass transit sales tax down our throats. I knew it was a crock from the getgo. It’s a money machine for certain people but has never lived up to its billing as any sort of solution. Interestingly, Ann Kitchen is on the board. No accountability. They fly below the radar because they operate on a dedicated tax. Too bad they haven’t considered a monorail system, despite Adler’s claim to consider all mass transit options.
Wait - I thought the Austin Parks Foundation and that concrete structure along the lake you don’t find aesthetically pleasing were the biggest government scams in town?
Population booms. Bus ridership way down again. Solution: Spend $10 million more annually on buses. Rinse and repeat. Jeff Kirk cheers!
So they brought in a new guy with experience from Boston. At a salary of $285k + bonuses for showing up or something, he should not have to worry about Austin’s affordability issues. As a sales tax funded money pit, Cap Metro knows no limits in terms of throwing cash at MOTS.
However, hope springs eternal as the new guy uttered the magic word - innovation! I can’t wait to see it. But after reading the report, all I saw was MOTS. No monorail or even a hint of an RFP to address the issue. Of course, city policy of promoting sprawl by limiting upward growth along corridors and protecting valuable capital views, etc, kinda puts a damper on most of the potential. Never mind all that.
I wonder if this fellow oversaw the Big Dig? Maybe he could come up with some innovation like that. How many times over budget and how many more years than planned did that one take? I really don’t know. I just wish that when they talk about innovation and addressing the mobility issue, they really meant it. So far, I haven’t seen that.
http://www.austinmonthly.com/AM/June-2018/How-to-Fix-Capital-Metro