By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL – It appears Connect Transit bus riders won’t pay higher fares this year.
At the end of a sometimes contentious meeting, the transit board indicated it will take final action next month to delay fare increases so a newly-formed working group can have more time to study transit system finances, bus routes, and perhaps receive additional funding from city governments.
The fare hikes were initially supposed to take effect July 1, then put off until October, and now the board is willing to wait until January.
Board member John Bowman was the only “no” vote to hire a professional facilitator, Smart Growth of America, for $53,425 to aid the Connect to the Future working group. He said spending that money would not have been necessary if the board had listened sooner to the public.
“We would have accomplished much the same thing by listening to the voice of the community without the cost and aggravation (and) overhead that we’re going to incur here with this process,” said Bowman.
“Until this body, until this system learns to do that, forget having a transit system that really works,” Bowman said.
Vice Chairman Ryan Whitehouse angrily responded to the criticism.
“It’s unfair to have our motives questioned, our intelligence questioned, and be told time and time again that we’re not listening because we arrive at a different opinion than you,” said Whitehouse.
Normal and Bloomington City Councils will be asked to help pay for the consultant.
Board member Julie Hile said the working group needs a neutral third party with strong transportation experience and the ability to help the transit system find new funding sources.
“We want to make sure that we get this just right,” said Hile, who is also part of the working group.
“It feels to us there is a lot riding on this work group.”
The transit board on Tuesday also approved realigning a bus route to accommodate mainly disabled riders in north Normal who would have found it difficult traveling up to a half-mile to another bus stop when the Olive line is discontinued July 1.
The Pink bus will pick up passengers there every half-hour, instead of hourly with the Olive bus. Transit staffers said it’s a cost-neutral solution, but board member Bowman voted against the change saying the transit system should have looked at other options.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
