Finally, I can't resist commenting on the Bend Area Transit article in the Bulletin today.

12% of the costs of the BAT are covered by riders.

Not including a couple of little things like fuel or maintenance. (I'm sorry, what else is there? Besides employees?)

Nor, I suspect, does it include things like the original botched investment or the support services provided by city in the normal course of business.

Good God.

Do the math. That means that each of those riders cost 7.50! Not including fuel and maintenance (and investment and service?).

I don't know, let's round it off to 10.00 per rider.

I'll say it again. I'd be willing to submit you could contract it out to a private enterprise for half that much.

5 675 riders per week. Sounds impressive until you break it down. Let's see. 11.25 hours per day. 6.5 days a week. 7 routes.

I work out about 11 riders per bus per hour. So in any 15 minute span, the bus would have, what 2 and a half riders?

Again, I can't help but believe you could probably just hire a few taxi cabs to do the same thing, and put some money in the pocket of some local businessmen.

What a boondoogle!