Feed: The Cost Of A Bus Ticket. - AggScore: 11.4

The Cost Of A Bus Ticket.

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A local news item caught my attention yesterday, on San Franciscos CBS5 television station. It concerned the citys municipal transport system, or Muni.a hrefhttpskipmaclure.files.wordpress.com201101munikiosk1.jpgimg srchttpskipmaclure.files.wordpress.com201101munikiosk1.jpgw300amph221 alt width300 height221 aWhile the transport organization rumbles on with a 21 million deficit, new ticket kiosks are being built at two locations. Looks like possibly a good idea at first glance. Sell more tickets, more passengers, more fares, more income to cut the deficit.These are not the common or garden type kiosks though. The sort that look like either a burger trailer or Uncle Henrys shed. They are stateoftheart contraptions, constructed of stainless steel with bullet proof glass. The cost for the pair 829,000!Has the Muni gone loony Well, perhaps not. You see, its not their money that they used to purchase these hitech boutique des billets. Neither is it funded from the city coffers if there are any left, that is. Its another wonderful investment, courtesy of the federal stimulus program. In other words, emyouem bought them.The terms of the grant insisted that Muni build new structures with all the expensive bureaucratic procedures associated with anything new in San Francisco, rather than perhaps stimulating an existing empty office or retail unit, of which there are plenty.This is just one of the ludicrous earmarks that are hitting every American in the pocket. The use it or lose it excuse doesnt vindicate the recipients of these giveaways, either.While businesses and individuals are trying to make ends meet, dont they feel any shame at using taxpayers money for projects that would still be highly questionable if it was their own money during an economic boom Perhaps not.Editor Dee is in for Skip today