Dear Editor:
Every time legislators at the Capitol debate transportation funding, this vexing myth is often repeated: Transit systems, like bus services, are only useful in the Metro area.
As the Director of the Chisago-Isanti Heartland Express, I can say this is simply not true. Residents of Greater Minnesota know that reliable, routine bus service is a necessity for getting to work and school, running errands and traveling between far-flung parts of the state.
The numbers underscore transit’s value in Greater Minnesota.
In 2013, people living outside the Metro used public transit 12 million times. More than 50 percent of transit riders are what we call “transit-dependent,” meaning they do not have a car or a driver’s license to get around. Many of them are seniors, and with the state’s senior population expected to double in the next 20 years, people living in rural parts of the state who rely on buses will increase, too.
Indeed, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk – a key lawmaker from Cook working on the transportation bill – explained that his mother is among people living in Greater Minnesota who rely more and more on transit.
“We don’t sell a lot of things in little towns anymore,” Bakk recently told reporters. “Shouldn’t someone like my mother … be able to get on a bus and maybe go to an appointment for a hearing aid?”
As legislators work on a long-term, sustainable transportation bill that dedicates dollars to transit systems, we hope they think of Bakk’s mother and others like her living in Minnesota.
With more transit dollars, we can expand bus services that ensure everyone in Greater Minnesota has easier access to amenities such as health care. More transit dollars would also allow for more reliable bus services, many of which do not currently operate at night or on the weekends.
Reliable and extensive transit systems are not only essential to preserving quality of life in Greater Minnesota, they are essential to preserving the area’s economy. Buses allow people living here to get to work and they allow people living here to shop, both important contributions to the state’s economy.
After negotiations on a transportation bill fell apart last session as the result of political differences between the Minnesota House and Senate, we encourage legislators to come to an agreement on transportation this year that helps all Minnesotans, regardless of where they live.
In the meantime, you can do your part by asking your legislator to vote for a long-term, sustainable transportation funding bill that dedicates new money to rural transit.
Craig Rempp
Chisago-Isanti Heartland Express