There are really far too many fascinating components to the story about TTA in today’s N&O to outline here. The story is dazzling with respect to how problematic the entire operation has become from the purchasing of buses to the number of riders that the fleet services to potential lawsuits due to breakdowns.
An example: 63 buses are in the TTA fleet that services 4,000 riders a day. That’s only about 64 people per day per bus, not what I would call bursting at the seams. In the story, “local mayors are clamoring for new routes for workers and students. . “
Buses costs over $300k apiece. Over half the fleet of buses is slated for retirement in 2008. And it only gets more complicated from there as the primary bus maker is from Highpoint with many of their buses in constant states of repair.
Suggestion, do the math, find out how many unique riders there actually are and buy them all cars. You’ll probably come out cheaper in the long run with far less liability.
Regardless, much of this story could be made into a series of word problems for future SATs.
