[Mpls] Bus strike -- David Strom

[Dennis Plante]

Mark Anderson writes:

The comment made by David Strom was not a conclusion but merely a comment.  
He noted that traffic didn't seem to be affected at all by the bus strike, 
which contradicts many of the comments made by mass transit advocates.  I 
agree that his comment was premature.  It also takes into account only the 
affects on traffic of mass transit, not the suffering that occurs by those 
that normally take the bus.  Nevertheless it is a valid issue to talk about. 
  One constantly hears that building more highways will not cure congestion, 
and that the only way to do this is to build more mass transit.  So far it 
looks like mass transit has essentially zero effect on congestion.  We'll 
see if that holds up over the next few weeks (if the strike lasts a while, 
which looks likely to me).  Perhaps the major argument of mass transit 
advocates will go out the window.

Dennis Plante responds:

Okay, we'll split hairs.  It wasn't a statement, it was a comment.  
Regardless of WHAT it was, it's irresponsible to "comment" that the transit 
strike is having "zero impact" on congestion (or whatever it was exactly 
that he said).  Simple physics should tell anyone with half a brain that if 
you add more autos to the same stretch of road, it increases congestion.  
Unless of course Strom would like to concede that everyone that was a mass 
transit rider has just elected to stay home until the strike is settled.   
Let's see what happens to the taxes of the members of the "taxpayers league" 
if these individuals end-up either quitting their jobs, or getting fired 
because they can't get to work.

There are many good reasons to have a mass transit system in a metro area.  
Relieving congestion on the highways is just one of them.

Dennis Plante
Jordan

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