Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:31:06 -0500
From: Tom West
Subject: Step up to the plate and be an Eco Hero, Chris Garriss
Chris –
Happy to hear that you have been around for more than 60 years. Hopefully it means you are a man of some wisdom.
I am not so happy to hear that you feel that you and about two or four or six other people feel that you are entitled to ride what is essentially a 40 passenger limousine service that taxpayers had to pay $360,000 for.
If you don’t mind me asking – If you care so much about our school children, why do you think it is okay to spend $10,000 a month for magic bus when there not enough money for school buses?
http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,14262.0.html
As for your informal “survey,” how many people did you specifically survey? Did you even consider asking any of the hundreds of people who signed the online petition supporting the Pittsboro Express bus (but apparently almost none of which chose to use it)
http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php?topic=15482.0
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pch/signatures-1.html
You may feel that you have paid your fair share by handing over a $3 fare. Do you realize that based on current ridership the actual cost per rider is between $10 – $20 per trip?
Instead of what appears to be whining about saving taxpayers $360,000 let’s discuss how you are going to handle this challenge and turn yourself into an Eco Hero.
Here’s how we start –
1) Over the next several weeks you talk to some of the two or four or six people you share the 40 passenger bus with
2) You ask them what they plan to do once the Pittsboro Express service ends
3) After they voice their complaints you tell them you have a great money saving and ecologically sound alternative plan. A great solution that does not involve government.
4) You ask them if they want to save themselves money, save the earth and save taxpayers $360,000
5) When they ask you how they can do that, you tell them.
6) You tell them that since you all ride the bus together, you can all still ride together.
7) All you have to do is CARPOOL together!
Isn’t that a great plan? You and your two or four or six buddies can CARPOOL together.
If your buddies don’t understand the concept, direct them to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpool
Another good resource is http://www.erideshare.com/
If you happen to have one of those finicky economics or math types on the bus with you them you can explain the numbers to them.
If the car you share gets 20 miles per gallon and it’s about 20 miles from the Pittsboro Courthouse to UNC Hospitals you use about a gallon of gas each way.
With gas at about $3 per gallon you will spend $6 per day for gas. Divide that between 4 people and it only costs each of you $1.50 per day round trip, which is less than riding the bus!
Like the Visa commercial says:
Chris and his three buddies carpooling – $1.50 a person per day
Saving taxpayers $360,000 – Priceless
Go ahead Chris! Be a trendsetter! Don’t let the man hold you down! Take some initiative TODAY and get that carpool going!
And one last thing Chris. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such a stand-up guy and stepping up to the challenge! You can be Chatham County’s own ECO-HERO!
BTW, even if you do not believe the people who have seen an empty Pittsboro Express bus, there has been at least one documented case of the Ghost bus being empty.
Check out http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,15206.0.html and you will see that there were few and no riders on the Pittsboro Express