[Mpls] Bus strike -- David Strom

[Anderson, Mark (GE Infrastructure)]

Dennis Plante comments on the David Strom remark:

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.

Mark Anderson:

If almost all of the people who took the bus end up sharing a ride with someone else, then there won't be much effect on congestion.  If the number of people commuting by bus are insignificant compared to those driving, then there will be little effect on congestion.  If no mass transit results in more people tele-commuting or working at different hours, there will be no effect on congestion.  Those are just the possibilities that occurred to me off the top of my half-brain.  I find it to be  irresponsible to ignore the facts in front of you just because they don't match your pre-conceived notions.  As I said, it is premature to judge the congestion level based on just a few days.  But it's worth watching to see what happens instead of jumping to conclusions.  And yes, David Strom was as guilty as you of jumping to conclusions.

Mark Anderson
Bancroft