Kent County Families for Fiscal Responsibility

On Sunday, April 17, the Grand Rapids Press’ editorial board endorsed a “yes” vote on the upcoming 31% bus tax increase on the ballot May 3. Voters in Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Walker, Wyoming, and Grandville will have the opportunity to vote on this issue. We disagree with the editorial board’s conclusions for a number of reasons, which are laid out below. Primarily, we believe the Rapid lacks credibility when reporting its accomplishments and its lack of transparency. Our group has demonstrated that The Rapid has a history of misleading the public and it fears public scrutiny:

• The Silver Line was rejected by voters in 2009, yet The Rapid is once again putting the issue on the ballot. It has now doubled the tax increase request from that year in hopes that voters won’t notice that the Silver Line is part of the tax increase. The Silver Line will cause massive congestion because it will turn Division, Monroe, and Michigan into one lane roads during rush hour.
• The Rapid released false information on the effectiveness of hybrid buses and then proceeded to spend millions on them – and it plans to buy at least ten more for the Silver Line route. Grand Rapids’ Mayor Heartwell, who is a member of the Rapid’s board, admitted himself that the buses are largely symbolic. Unfortunately, $200,000 extra per bus for “perception” is not a very good way to spend the public’s money.
• The Rapid says that it’s environmentally friendly, yet we have demonstrated that The Rapid is actually a massive polluter – adding 40% more carbon dioxide to the environment than if all of The Rapid’s passengers had been transported in cars.
• The Rapid is the least transparent major government in Kent County. The Rapid refuses to post its full budgets, audits, and detailed ridership information so we are forced to do it ourselves on our web site. When we requested more detailed financial information, The Rapid’s staff was vindictive and violated the Freedom of Information Act. The Rapid is telling voters that we’d better not ask how public money is being spent or expect a big fine.
• Despite the hype from The Rapid, its non-student ridership is not going up. In fact, the entire increase in ridership between 2008 and 2010 was in students. Non-student ridership actually declined.
• Companies that make money off The Rapid helped fund the 2009 “Yes” campaign. Nearly 70% of the Rapid “yes” campaign in 2009 was funded by one single donation. We are a grass roots organization which doesn’t take any special interest money at all.
• When comparing The Rapid to other transit agencies, The Rapid doesn’t do so well. For instance, The Lansing transit system (CATA) transported 23% more passengers on 17% fewer buses than The Rapid. CATA recovers 24% of its costs through fares while The Rapid only recovers 10% of costs through fares. CATA pollutes 26% less than The Rapid too.
• The Rapid spent $250,000 on a piece of art for its headquarters and $32 million on a new bus garage so that it doesn’t have to store buses outdoors.

We believe the Rapid must first improve its efficiency and transparency before it can come before the taxpayers and ask for more funding. We are urging a “no” vote on May 3 to send a message to The Rapid to take the taxpayers’ concerns seriously.

For detailed explanations of each point above, along with documentation and links to source materials, please view the full document here.

In time for Earth Week, an analysis of the The Rapid’s 2009 services determined that the bus system contributed over seven millions pounds of extra carbon dioxide to the environment than would have been produced if all of The Rapid’s bus passengers had been transported in cars. This startling calculation, independently verified, shows that because of the low ridership on Rapid buses, combined with the low gas mileage of the Rapid’s large buses,The Rapid does not in any way reduce pollution.

In fact, the analysis shows that the buses produce even more carbon dioxide than people who use SUVs. The production of carbon dioxide with vehicles is entirely dependent with the amount of fuel consumed. The comparison is made by determining the average amount of fuel used to transport one passenger one mile and then comparing the different modes of transportation.

A senior fellow specializing in transportation policy at the Cato Institute, Randal O’Toole independently verified the calculations made by the Kent County Families for Fiscal Responsibility (KCFFR). KCFFR has been the lead opposition group to the upcoming May 3rd 31% bus tax increase. The group has gotten several prominent elected officials to oppose the millage including a Kentwood city commissioner, three county commissioners, and two local state legislators.

KCFFR spokesman Eric Larson had this to say about the new findings, “One of the signature missions of a public transit system is to conserve resources and move people around town efficiently and quickly, while reducing pollution. The analysis today simply points out what we have been saying for months now: the buses are not full enough. Not only is it costly but it contributes to pollution and wastes fuel. Clearly, The Rapid fails to deliver these which is why we have been advocating a ‘no’ vote until they begin running the bus system sensibly.”

“Our analysis shows that their van service delivers on that promise to protect the environment,” continued Larson. “It consumes less fuel and moves people around town inexpensively. Unfortunately, the van service is a miniscule portion of The Rapid system. Instead, The Rapid touts its hybrid buses which are still worse than SUVs because their average fuel mileage is only 0.68 mpg better than the conventional buses. As stewards of tax dollars, we can only hope The Rapid takes an inward look at its operations and rethinks the way it operates.”

The Rapid’s buses produced 25,079,872 pounds of carbon dioxide annually which was 40% more than if the people had been transported using passenger cars. Had all of those riders instead used passenger cars or SUVs, they would have produced 17,754,939 and 18,360,146 pounds of carbon dioxide respectively. Part of the explanation for the large discrepancy is the fact that automobiles’ fuel efficiency has improved dramatically over the last forty years while bus efficiency has actually diminished.

To view the full report along with supporting calculations and links to source data, please see the posting at the ITP Watch web site.

Kent County Families for Fiscal Responsibility (KCFFR), a local non-partisan taxpayer advocacy organization formed in 2007, today announced that it will again be working to defeat the new Interurban Transit Partnership (ITP) millage increase this May in the cities of Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Walker, Wyoming, and Grandville.

The group opposed the last ITP millage hike request in May of 2009, which failed at the polls. That request was for 0.12 mills, or a 14% increase in bus property taxes. This year, the ITP is asking for 0.35 mills, or a 31% increase in bus property taxes. The tax increase will largely be used to operate the previously-rejected Silver Line bus route, additional hybrid-electric buses, and running more buses at lower ridership hours and locations.

In 2009, the Silver Line was the thrust of the millage. This Silver Line, also known as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) technology, would run up and down Division Avenue and through the medical mile. The advantage, say supporters of the BRT, is that the Silver Line will travel faster along its route than the current conventional buses. According to the Rapid’s own website, the Silver Line will travel about 16.5 mph versus 15 mph on the bus that currently runs along Division Avenue. The Silver Line bus route would not provide service to the cities of Walker, Grandville, or East Grand Rapids.

Said KCFFR spokesman Eric Larson, “Once again we are forced to make the same arguments that we did two years ago. The politicians at The Rapid didn’t get the message when voters rejected this plan in 2009. The Silver Line is going to close down a lane of traffic during rush hour on Division Avenue while traveling only about 1.5 mph faster than the bus which already runs nearly the same route. Also, almost half of the tax increase goes towards the Silver Line which won’t even benefit the taxpayers in Walker, Grandville, and East Grand Rapids. It is still unfair and a terrible time to take money out of our local economy when families and businesses are struggling to pay the bills.”

According to the Rapid’s documentation, the Silver Line will not be able to use its traffic light technology on the six busiest intersections on Division Avenue, resulting in only a small time saving for riders. The Silver Line is projected to cost taxpayers $50 million.

“We will again wage a grassroots campaign,” said Larson, “to educate the public about the wasteful Silver Line and how the Rapid, in general, has been a poor steward of our tax dollars. It is irresponsible for them to ask for more in operational expenses while they run mostly-empty buses throughout the system.”

KCFFR has also set up a web site to shine the light of public scrutiny on The Rapid, because The Rapid is the least transparent government entity in Kent County. More information is available at www.ITPWatch.org.