Posted on 10/21/2014 5:13:51 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
Most members of the Metropolitan Council rarely use the public transportation system they are in charge of overseeing, based on transit pass usage and a Star Tribune survey of the 17-member body.
Met Council members receive a free transit pass as part of their appointments to the board. Information obtained through an open records request shows that 10 of those passes were never used in the past year. Five council members swiped their cards between 10 and 21 times, while just two registered more than 70 rides.
By comparison, a full year of two-way weekday commutes would rack up closer to 500 rides.
“We should ask whether members of the council have sufficient expertise about transit … to be managing a transit system. Do they understand the problems at a deep level?” said University of Minnesota professor David Levinson, who researches transportation systems and has written about the need for transit decisionmakers to commute on their own product.
The information is not entirely complete, since members occasionally flash their pass to a bus driver, board light rail without swiping or pay another way. The data provided by the Met Council showed pass usage, but did not connect a pass to a specific user. One newer member who commutes by bus frequently was not aware members were entitled to the pass. But interviews and e-mails with each member show that few incorporate public transit into their daily lives — if they use it at all.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Silly rabbit! Mass transit is for the peasants, limousines are for the liberal ruling class. Why is that so hard to understand?
Met Council member married to the Mayor of Mpls...but no conflict of interest there.Nothing to see, move along now.
LOL, exactly...its for the Little People to tighten their belts so the Big People will have more for less.
"...Silly rabbit! Mass transit is for the peasants, limousines are for the liberal ruling class. Why is that so hard to understand?..."
Precisely correct, my friend!
The term Limousine Liberals did not materialize out of nowhere and they know it.
It is the same reason that Al Gore lives in an enormous Tennessee mansion and jets all over the place in his private aircraft.
His personal "carbon footprint" is likely THOUSANDS of times my entire household combined.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.