Hoggard alerts me to District 5 City Council candidate Trudy Wade’s “attack ad” on incumbent Sandy Carmany in this week’s Rhino.

So I walk down to the store to grab a gallon of milk and pick up a copy of the Rhino. When I saw the ad, it was even better than I thought: Wade goes after Carmany’s vociferous support for public transportation.

At the heart of the ad are quotes from UNCC professor David Hartgen saying that Greensboro has a “too-high percentage of money set aside for public transit.” It also highlights Hartgen’s response to Carmany’s idea for a commuter rail link between Greensboro and Winston-Salem as just “silly talk.”

OK, let’s be fair. Carmany isn’t mentioned in the N&R article quoting Hartgen, and in the Yes! Weekly candidate questionnaire, Carmany expressed support for light rail but admitted that “funding is problematic and it will take years to develop the system.”

Which is not to say that Carmany’s support for public transportation isn’t problematic for taxpayers, because public transportation doesn’t pay for itself and never will. As a PART board member, she also stands by while director Brent McKinney runs around convincing commissioners in rural counties to sign off on taxes for bus service and stating that his goal for the Heart of the Triad is to “reduce vehicle miles traveled.” Mind you, the PART board passes those taxes after commissioners sign off and, while I honestly don’t know Carmany’s voting record, I’d be surprised if she ever voted against one.

Carmany also cites increased ridership as evidence that citizens are choosing public transportation. That’s probably true for PART buses, but we’re still talking a very, very small percentage of the population. As for city bus riders, another Hartgen study found that the majority of riders use public transportation as “‘stepping stones’ for improving personal mobility,” meaning they’re riding the bus until they can save enough money to buy a car.

Taking all this into consideration, you still see city buses driving around town half-empty at best. Things to think about, District 5 voters.