The City Wants To Take You For A Ride

Editorial

By Jon A. Brake

Over the past four years the City of Manhattan has been planning to take the Citizens for a ride, and boy is it
going to cost.

They Will Tell You That: the City needs a bus system.

What They Will Not Tell You Is: according to their own figures only two people will be riding each bus each hour
of operation. Or, that none of the twelve organizations providing service now will be replaced. (ATA Bus, Big
Lakes, etc.: pick people up at their home and deliver them to their destination and then reverse the trip.) The
City bus will be blocks away from their homes and their destination.

They Will Tell You That: voters will be asked to approve $800,000 to start the system.

What They Will Not Tell You Is: the system they want will cost $8 million to start and $3 million a year to run.
They will get the voters to approve the $800,000 and then add more then $7 million without a vote. Remember
the Linear Trail?

They Will Tell You That: in Ames, Iowa more than one million people ride the bus system.

What They Will Not Tell You Is: in Ames, Iowa the students pay a one time fee each semester and ride the bus
on campus as many times as they want.

They Will Tell You That: citizens have participated in the design of this system from the start.

What They Will Not Tell You Is: last week a seventeen-person committee vote 16-1 against having a bus system
at all.

They Will Tell You That: they would like for you to attend the open house on Tuesday, November 2 and give
them your opinions.

What They Will Not Tell You Is: they already have the plans for a new bus system and they are ready to sell the
voter on their idea. They will take us all for a ride and boy is it going to cost.