METRO SOAKS THE POOR

Outrageous Fare Increase Will

Reduce Ridership

Metro Raises Rates on Senior Citizens and the Disabled

One Giant Leap for D.C. Area Gentrification

The Metro board yesterday approved the largest fare increase in the history of the transit system. At a time when Metro is providing poor service to the customer, there is absolutely no justification for this outrageous increase. Metro continues to suffer from poor leadership at the top and on its board.

We the citizens also suffer from poor leadership in our government centers. Let me inform our elected officials that high fares = lower ridership. When we are trying to encourage more people to use mass transit, our officials are reducing the incentives to do so. Now that the average suburban Metro rider is going to pay $10 more per week ($520 per year), this serves as yet another tax on lower and middle income families. How many groceries will $520 buy in a year for a citizen of moderate income? A lot. This $520 tax on working families is an immoral disgrace. Perhaps the most reprehensible item on the fare increase list, was a doubly outrageous fare hike specifically for senior citizens and the disabled!!! Remember, there is no low too low for our elected officials.

But you won't hear any protest from our elected officials. In fact, they wanted an even higher fare increase. You might ask, how does a Metro fare help them, as it does not go to the governments? The answer they don't want you to hear is that this goes to their strategy for the gentrification of our metro area. This strategy serves the needs of politicians who are in league with developers, in search of wealthy residents to buy expensive properties they build.

Of course, there are a few simple minded people who say, "the cost of operating a vehicle and of auto insurance make it more expensive than Metro." Unfortunately, unless you live in a dream world like they do, the majority of people own a car and have auto insurance. Therefore, they are already paying those operation costs. So when a moronic decision is made to increase fares and Metro parking fees... Suddenly, unless you are driving an Escalade, gas and parking garage fees are less than the cost of using Metro.

So, how does that mesh with our officials' claims of favoring mass transit and of taking action on "human-made global warming" (the greatest hoax of our time)? It just doesn't. What's the real agenda? I call it "Pay to Live" Society. This is a philosophy held by many on the far left and even some Republicans. Under the guise of "climate change," which is naturally occuring on a cyclical basis, governments and bodies will reduce freedom and increase taxes. Suddenly, every action, product, and service will require a fee to offset this or that "effect" on the environment.

This extremist environmental agenda will combine with governmental tax, spending and housing policies to drive up the cost of living. Areas such as Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and Montgomery County will only be affordable for the elite. Where the rest of us - the poor, and the middle class - are supposed to go hasn't been answered yet. North Dakota?

But the hypocrisy has been laid bare for all to recognize. The "environmental" agenda has only served so far as a revenue device for Big Government. The Chesapeake Bay is worse off than ever, and the state has continued to take a hands-off approach to the real polluters. Further, under the guise of "clean, alternative fuels," governments are now promoting ethanol as a legitimate answer to environmental concerns. Hypocrisy again! Ethanol, aka corn and sugar production, will require massive increases in fertilizer that will flush directly into the Bay and any other nearby bodies of water. The result, of course, will be to further destroy the Bay's natural environment and wildlife. Equally catastrophic will be the inflation of corn and sugar prices on the national and world markets. This will make basic foods too expensive for lower income citizens to buy here and in Latin America. Again, this is immoral. To top it off, ethanol-powered cars can't go as far as gasoline-powered cars. I'm sorry, but it's true. No ethanol, no nuclear reactors. Neither one is environmentally safe.

And now, here we have another hypocritical move: claim to support mass transit but then make it too expensive to use. Add this to "HOT lanes" (which are hot if you are a tax and spend Democrat or a Lexus driver; not so hot if you are the average working-class driver) and "congestion pricing" (aka move to North Dakota if you can't afford to pay $16 a day to drive into D.C.), and you've got the idea: Pay to Live. It works for the developers, who need elites to buy their luxury homes and condos they currently can't sell at Donald Trump prices (you know, like that building near White Flint Metro, across from Toys R Us - the one that has 9 lights on at night). Welcome to Fantasy Island.

So what is the real answer? Take it from me, the only candidate in the 2006 election who had a comprehensive transportation plan, and a real environmentalist: we need to make mass transit easy to access, affordable to all, and provide world class service. Metro had no business raising fares with its poor service and terrible safety record. Give us a world class product first. If Mr. Catoe and his board cannot operate Metro in a fiscally responsible manner while still providing an exceptional user experience, find others who can. If not, turn it over to a public-private partnership. Introduce accountability, competitive bidding, and innovation. We need a farecard that gives unlimited rides on Metro, Metrobus, regional buses, MARC, VRE, and Amtrak for one low monthly fee. That will be the greatest advance in mass transit history and create a surge in ridership. It can be done. What are we waiting for? Or is the concern about mass transit and the environment just an inconvenient lie?