Save the Spirit
The Sierra Spirit is going to run out of funding on June 30, when the Federal grant that created it expires. It's future is in doubt, and I for one would hate to see it go.
For those
of you who don't know--which is everyone who doesn't live in Reno and probably most of you who do--the Sierra Spirit is a free bus service run by the city on a continuous loop from the campus of UNR, through downtown, up to Liberty just short of California Avenue (it almost makes it to the Chocolate Bar but not quite) and back again.
The Sierra Spirit is one of those great, civic-minded projects that probably sounded fantastic in theory but which, in the end, not a lot of people use and which the public may not really care to pay for. It would be too bad if the service dies out, though, because it really does have it's uses.
If you've spent any time at all in downtown Reno you've almost certainly seen the bright yellow busses that run the loop. They come by designated stops every ten minutes and are absolutely free to ride. If where you are and where you are going happen to be on the route then it's a great deal. I live downtown and would gladly take the bus to Wolfpack games out at Lawlor if, well, if I went to more Wolfpack games. Alternatively, if you are a UNR student or live in the campus area, then it's a great way to get to, say, Wingfield Park, downtown bars or the Art Museum without having to drive.
In the interests of full disclosure I must confess that I can only recall actually using the service twice, once to get to a UNR football game and once to get to the Little Waldorf (don't ask). Much like AmTrak, it's a service that I don't often use but that I do like knowing is there. Of course, the RGJ article clearly points out that there are people who depend on the Spirit for legitimate transportation, and apparently UNR appreciates the service since it is offering to kick in $50,000 of the approximately one million dollars a year that continuing the current routes would require.
The problem will become from what source the city comes up with the rest of the money for the service. The primary idea being floated right now seems to be to obtain about a third of the necessary funds from the creation of a new special assessment district, which would basically mean that property owners within the area served by the route would pay about a third of the cost to maintain it. This seems unlikely to me, as a lot of property owners downtown are still sore about having to pay for the Train Trench and other assessments. Anyway, 70 percent of property owners in the affected area would have to agree to it and then the city counsel would need to approve it. When's the last time you heard of 70 percent of any group of people agree to be taxed more than they currently are?
There may be other alternatives, but I don't know how optimistic I am that the Spirit is long for this world. The heavens aren't going to fall or anything, but I would hate to see it go. It's one of those things that I really like about living where I do, a piece of the scenery that you get used to and, unfortunately, come to take for granted after a while.
For those
of you who don't know--which is everyone who doesn't live in Reno and probably most of you who do--the Sierra Spirit is a free bus service run by the city on a continuous loop from the campus of UNR, through downtown, up to Liberty just short of California Avenue (it almost makes it to the Chocolate Bar but not quite) and back again.
The Sierra Spirit is one of those great, civic-minded projects that probably sounded fantastic in theory but which, in the end, not a lot of people use and which the public may not really care to pay for. It would be too bad if the service dies out, though, because it really does have it's uses.
If you've spent any time at all in downtown Reno you've almost certainly seen the bright yellow busses that run the loop. They come by designated stops every ten minutes and are absolutely free to ride. If where you are and where you are going happen to be on the route then it's a great deal. I live downtown and would gladly take the bus to Wolfpack games out at Lawlor if, well, if I went to more Wolfpack games. Alternatively, if you are a UNR student or live in the campus area, then it's a great way to get to, say, Wingfield Park, downtown bars or the Art Museum without having to drive.
In the interests of full disclosure I must confess that I can only recall actually using the service twice, once to get to a UNR football game and once to get to the Little Waldorf (don't ask). Much like AmTrak, it's a service that I don't often use but that I do like knowing is there. Of course, the RGJ article clearly points out that there are people who depend on the Spirit for legitimate transportation, and apparently UNR appreciates the service since it is offering to kick in $50,000 of the approximately one million dollars a year that continuing the current routes would require.
The problem will become from what source the city comes up with the rest of the money for the service. The primary idea being floated right now seems to be to obtain about a third of the necessary funds from the creation of a new special assessment district, which would basically mean that property owners within the area served by the route would pay about a third of the cost to maintain it. This seems unlikely to me, as a lot of property owners downtown are still sore about having to pay for the Train Trench and other assessments. Anyway, 70 percent of property owners in the affected area would have to agree to it and then the city counsel would need to approve it. When's the last time you heard of 70 percent of any group of people agree to be taxed more than they currently are?
There may be other alternatives, but I don't know how optimistic I am that the Spirit is long for this world. The heavens aren't going to fall or anything, but I would hate to see it go. It's one of those things that I really like about living where I do, a piece of the scenery that you get used to and, unfortunately, come to take for granted after a while.
posted by Yukon Sully | 11:08 AM
7 Comments:
Mind if I take the contrarian point of view?
I always enjoy it when someone else pays for a service I enjoy. I recall when the Sierra Spirit first started, riders were asked to pay only 25 cents of the estimated $ 3- $ 4/ride variable costs for riding the shuttle.
http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2004/05/13/70698.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News&sp5=RGJ.com&sp6=news&sp7=local_news
Even when asked to pay only 5% of the true cost for this service, ridership faltered. Let's not forget someone else paid 95% of these costs.
http://www.rtcwashoe.com/about/organization/transportation/sierra_spirit/
But FREE was the demand. And even when FREE (to the rider, not the taxpayer) ridership dwindled. Ridership declined & costs increased even when servicing the claimed 1,000 riders a day (questionable).
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/NEWS10/602220357/1002
This has been a million dollar a year fleecing of the taxpayer. Even if you believe the ridership numbers, RTC's VARIABLE costs for this experiment is well over $ 3/ride.
Just thank your lucky stars your local government wasn't as foolish as Portland to build a $ 13 million per mile steetcar system with the same results. Operating costs are equally out of sight.
JD
For the record, contrary opinions are allowed.
Yukon, do you remember when the city of Spokane supplied a fleet of bicycles for anyone to use and just leave anywhere for the next guy to use? That sounded like a great idea, too, but you said that after a while, these bikes showed up dumped in ditches or in the river. They were painted pink so that no one would be tempted to just keep one. The problem with that idea is that if you really needed to be somewhere and were depending on a free bike to be available, what were the chances that you would find one? Also, what happened to these bikes when it rained?
The city of Tuscaloosa ran a free bus service around the campus of the U. of Alabama, I think, so that students could go out and party and not have to drive home drunk. Nice idea, but I never, ever saw anyone riding those buses. People are just way too much in love with their cars.
I think these things fail because they are just not practical enough for a lot of people.
I know, you're both right from a dollars-to-doughnuts point of view. And you are correct "Anoymous Barb" that in this country, cars are the end-all be-all in the world of mass transit, and in a strange way people in America not only dislike public transportation but even seem to root for it to fail. Maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part that things could be better. All I was trying to say was that I like having the Sierra Spirit there and I hope it sticks around even though I doubt it will. And just for whatever it's worth, I would be one of those property owners in the assessment district. Though I can't speak for everyone downtown, I personally wouldn't mind supporting the service.
Mass transit is definitely utilized in large metropolitan areas like New York and Chicago and often is easier than taking a car. That's because traffic is congested and parking is non-existent and/or expensive. I would much rather take the subway or train to downtown Chicago than drive.
The Spirit is cool, but JD is dead on. The only time I have ever ridden it was from the bottom of the university campus to the top, simply because the shuttle wasn't going to get there for a few minutes and I was right next to the bus stop. Also, I have only seen those buses full after sporting events on campus. Which leads me to my next thing. It's Wolf Pack, not Wolfpack. Nitpicky, but Pack fans are a serious, and dangerous bunch.
Well, the RGJ agrees with me, but I'm not really sure that's a good thing:
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060223/OPED01/602230314/1098/OPED
Oh, and my apologies to the Wolf Pack.
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