Wichitans are threatened with shutdown of the city’s bus system if voters don’t approve a sales tax. We need out-of-the-box thinking here.
In November Wichita voters will decide whether to create a sales tax of one cent per dollar. Part of the funds would be directed to the Wichita transit system.
In another example of “either/or” thinking, members of the Wichita Transit board floated the idea that if the sales tax doesn’t pass, we’ll shut down the entire system. The Wichita Business Journal reported “The rhetoric surrounding the November sales tax referendum heated up on Friday, when reports surfaced that some Wichita Transit advisory board members think the system should be shuttered if the sales tax fails.”
City hall pushed back. The official city position is that without a sales tax, there would be service reductions of 25 percent. But the shutdown threat was made and reported. It will undoubtedly have an effect on some people.
This is another example of the false choices Wichita city hall presents to Wichitans. Another is either pass the sales tax or we’re going to borrow money for a new water supply and you’ll pay a lot of interest.
Why does city hall give us such a limited range of choices? Why would members of the Wichita Transit board seed rumors that are so far away from the city’s official position?
In some cities so-called “dollar vans” are operated by private industry in competition with city-owned traditional transit. Would Wichita city hall allow such services here?
Both Uber and “dollar vans” are, in my opinion, not compatible with Wichita’s existing laws and regulations. I fully expect the city to crack down on Uber soon. We’re then left with “big empty buses” and traditional taxi service as our transit choices, and perhaps higher taxes too.
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