Technology has changed transportation, as it always does.
Anyone over 20 remembers just a few years back when there were thousands of taxi-cabs on the road. Of course, the internet and the connectivity provided by the internet did away with most of the taxi-cabs.
The internet and the connectivity provided by the internet has dramatically changed mass transit as well. Does RTD see this? Does RTD admit to this sea-change?
Uber and Lyft are a couple of the more obvious reasons as to why so many enormous RTD buses are mostly empty. And there are so many other categories of internet connectivity that have changed mass transit forever.
Another reason as to why so many enormous buses are mostly empty is Zoom and another thousand applications that make working together from home and other remote locations more possible than ever before. Much of the bus traffic from home to work, and back to home, has gone away forever.
Another reason as to why so many enormous buses are mostly empty is Amazon and other on-line retail sales, such as Wall-mart. When we receive a package from Amazon, or Wall-mart, we do not need to ride a bus (or several) to get that laundry detergent or whatever it is that was just delivered. And the Amazon person didn’t ride a bus to deliver that package.
When we have King Soopers deliver our groceries, we do not need to ride a bus (or several) to pick-up chicken and vegetables for dinner. And the driver for King Soopers didn’t ride a bus to deliver those groceries.
When we have DoorDash deliver our food, we do not need to ride a bus (or several) to pick-up that food. And the driver for DoorDash didn’t ride a bus to deliver that food.
So how does RTD finance so many enormous buses that are mostly empty?
With debt. Unfortunately, this debt is very expensive and the only way to pay-back this debt is by taking twice as much money from the next generation of young adults. Chase Bank and/or all the other banks – they benefit from government debt – we the People – we lose.
Our Regional Transportation District likes to brag about it’s bond rating. How about we encourage them to brag about prudent financial policy. We need to tell the Regional Transportation District to lay-off the debt. We need to demand for the Regional Transportation District to take on NO new debt.
Read the Financial Report for RTD
