To celebrate Strive Not to Drive Week, David Forbes wrote about various viewpoints on transit in the City of Asheville. I am at work during the day, but the night and weekend buses I have seen, with one exception, are usually empty but sometimes have up to three passengers. This is not doing the environment any favors. The solution, say radical transit enthusiasts, is to run more buses more often. Councilman Bill Russell is disappointed the city is not making a greater effort to make transportation routes correspond to demand, the kind of thing a free market would do.
Some people want to encourage more choice riders. If people can afford a car but ride the bus, why should their transportation be federally subsidized? Mayor Terry Bellamy recently requested council seat at least one person who rode the buses out of necessity on the city’s transit board. The city’s transit department has fallen under criticism for hiring local transit activists.
Forbes notes that just about everybody thinks the city is wasting money decorating and branding the buses.
