This page was last updated on June 3, 2012.
Bus route in danger; Janet Caldarelli; Beaver County Times; June 3, 2012. An editor’s note asserts, “The writer is a member of Ambridge Council.”
Some previous Caldarelli letters are here, here, here, here, and here. The last Caldarelli letter I critiqued was “Why won’t Corbett tax gas drillers?”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“The Port Authority of Allegheny County’s Route 14, which serves Ambridge, could soon be terminated. Without additional state funding, the authority is faced with a 35 percent cutback in services in September.”
[RWC] “State funding” is Ms. Caldarelli’s euphemism for “taxpayer funding.”
“What they do not realize is that this will totally devastate the area. The Route 14 bus is essential to all, young and not so young, as this is the only access to downtown Sewickley.”
[RWC] Hyperbole much?
“How do they expect people to get to their doctors, dentists, the hospital, their jobs and the shopping area?
“The BCTA’s routes 1 and 2 will continue to serve Ambridge residents, but they only travel along Ohio River Boulevard. One must attempt to cross the busy road and then walk several blocks to get to downtown Sewickley, then finally to their destination.
“How do they think the elderly, disabled and families with young children can accomplish this? It is dangerous for even the able-bodied. And these buses run on a limited basis on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays.
“I have spoken with state Rep. Rob Matzie, and he is doing the best to help us with this, but we must do our part by bombarding our legislators and the governor with letters and phone calls letting them know what a hardship this will cause for this area.”
[RWC] Why don’t the riders of these routes ante up and pay the full cost of the service? Funding for BCTA, PAAC, SEPTA, etc. should come exclusively from the riders of the systems via the fare box. Why don’t we all just pay our own way for transportation, et cetera? As individuals, we must be willing to pay for our individual life and lifestyle choices out of our own pockets. Nothing good comes from trying to pick another taxpayer’s pocket.
© 2004-2012 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.