The Winston-Salem Journal calls for an ‘outside consultant’ to keep an eye on PART as the authority attempts to deal with its financial problems:
One thing a consultant could establish is how other regional transportation systems are faring. Surely there are others that are doing better. Why isn’t ours? The consultant should look at all facets of the PART operation, right up to the leadership and strategies of PART executive director Brent McKinney. For example, just last year, PART opened a park-and-ride lot in north High Point after considerable delay and expense. But the timing of the runs is so limited that it has attracted scant ridership.
One would think that’s the job of the PART board. Unfortunately, they’re all so committed to the concept of regionalism and the groupthink notion that local economy is dependent on public transportation. Still, even as the Journal calls for counties to “give the agency additional funding,” PART board members are facing the reality that their cash-strapped local boards aren’t about to hand over more money only to have it disappear into the bottomless pit that is public transportation.