The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is looking into renewing its service contract with the University before the current contract expires on August 19, 2008.
Negotiations will only begin after the completion of an ongoing study analyzing how MTD buses are moving people through campus, concentrating on where riders board and exit the buses. The study will give University administrators and MTD staff a better idea of how to run buses through campus and keep the safety of the campus community at the forefront of the service goal, said Pam Voitik, director of campus services at the University.
"We want to provide good service but service that is also safe," she said.
And note the sub-head: "Student deaths will not factor in UI's decision process"
It would be an enormous blow to the CUMTD if they lost all those student annual passes.
Yes, that would definitely lead to even more attempts to force annexation....
Tolono, Mahomet, Rantoul..... ;-)
The blow would be to the community as the congestion from more university people driving would be awful. Especially awful would be all the students who would drink and drive. If they did not have the transit service there would be mayhem when the bars close at 2 a.m. If you don't believe me just go to Green St. or downtown Champaign some Friday or Saturday night and watch. Add in the documented decline in assults on campus as a result of the transit district's Safe Rides program and I don't think the real blow would be the the MTD, it would the students and the community. You have no idea how lucky we are to have this transit service, if you did you would not post such ridiculous comments.
You have no idea how lucky we are to have this transit service, if you did you would not post such ridiculous comments.
It was a statement of fact - the students make up a huge % of CUMTD ridership. I said nothing about the impact on students or traffic.
The fact is the transit system is a community service that is needed. Saying it would be blow to the MTD is like saying that if people quit driving it would be blow to the city or if there were fewer students it would be a blow to the school system.
"The blow would be to the community as the congestion from more university people driving would be awful. Especially awful would be all the students who would drink and drive. If they did not have the transit service there would be mayhem when the bars close at 2 a.m. If you don't believe me just go to Green St. or downtown Champaign some Friday or Saturday night and watch. Add in the documented decline in assults on campus as a result of the transit district's Safe Rides program and I don't think the real blow would be the the MTD, it would the students and the community. You have no idea how lucky we are to have this transit service, if you did you would not post such ridiculous comments."
I think you're making the assumption that CUMTD is the only viable option for mass transit on campus. If UIUC were to terminate its relationship with CUMTD - and that's a huge if, and not something I'd advocate - I would assume that UIUC would find some suitable replacement provider of transit services, and that transit services wouldn't just completely go away.
Criticizing CUMTD does not necessarily mean criticizing all mass transit. Somebody can be pro-mass transit and still be disgusted with how CUMTD has handled itself in recent years.
I think we need a light rail.
/sarcasm
Kem
redstate, bringing up facts about the MTD is almost always considered an attack. Since so many facts shed a negative light on the MTD, mtd proponents just reflexively attack any facts, even innocuous ones.
"The blow would be to the community as the congestion from more university people driving would be awful."
Nuh-uh, MTD is not the only entity that can provide this service. UIUC could buy their own buses and do it themselves, for instance.
It's actually illegal for MTD to contract with UI the way they do. Why Toeppen hasn't gone after this one is a friggin' mystery to me. Much more worthwile than the Moline Golf shuttle buses.
Total elimination on MTD would cause more congestion. Elimination of student routes that travel 2 blocks would decrease congestion.
It would actually be great if the University forced the MTD to do some things different.
The U of I should take advantage of their position in negotiations with the CUMTD. Without the U of I students/staff, the CUMTD ridership numbers do not justify the mega million dollar government organization funded by property tax.
Buses Good.
MTD Bad.
Trains Good.
Amtrak Bad.
"Since so many facts shed a negative light on the MTD..."
So even though you are defending the MTD, you admit that it is the facts which shed a negative light on the MTD and not rumors, spin, etc.?