Editorial response to the Times

The following letter was sent to the Hernando Times in response to their editorial column on THE Bus this morning:

Re: Editorial –Inadequate mass transit

Let me see if I have this correct. It appears that I am now the villain of the discussion on the failed mass transit system in this county, according to the Hernando Times.

The lead to C.T. Bowen’s editorial column attempted to give everyone the impression that “I just don’t get it” when it comes to the importance of TBARTA and the continuation of mass transit in Hernando County.

This obvious misrepresentation of the truth by the Hernando Times editorial staff could only be explained in one way. It is obvious they are truly looking for a villain to crucify by intentionally misrepresenting the facts brought out in our meeting.

Here are a few facts that the Hernando Times side-stepped in their original reporting of this meeting.

· I specifically stated at the beginning of this meeting that saving the bus system was vital to mass transit dollars, from the state and the federal government, for our local transportation needs in the county.

· I suggested the county look into a private-public partnership with local business to increase bus-ridership. With this method, I proposed a “Park & Ride” system with local business to move workers to and from work, stationed at central locations throughout the county. I was not given credit for these suggestions by the reporter in the original article on the issue.

· I suggested the county reduce its current fixed-rate schedule to running the buses ever two hours. This would save the county $420,000 annually.

· With this reduction in service over the next year, I suggested the county partner with business to make the bus system work more efficiently for everyone.

· Yes, I strongly opposed taking 5 buses through the federal economic stimulus package. The funding for these five buses would put our county in a 10 year, 350,000 mile commitment per bus.

· I also strongly opposed using federal dollars to rehabilitate the existing fleet of buses which would put our county into another 7 year commitment to the federal government. By the way, the average mileage on the current bus fleet is 150,000 mile which is a long way from being on the endangered species list for derelict buses.

· I suggested the county apply dollars from the $420,000 for the rehabilitation of the current bus fleet and work on resolving issues of ridership that have plagued the system since 2001. The county could rehab all the buses, using local money, and still save dollars over the next year, without being encumbered by a 7 to 10-year federal commitment.

I believe the majority of citizens in this county agree the current system does not work effectively in its current condition. On that premise, why would anyone consider giving the county officials another 10 years to practice making the THE Bus work on the taxpayer’s dime?

In closing, I would like to highlight to the Hernando Times staff that I am a volunteer committee member in this county, not an elected official. The photograph you chose to run by my comment was not only unnecessary, but I believe it was done intentionally to crucify me, the messenger. Let me remind each of you there is a fine line between printing the truth and having an outright slanderous attack on a private citizen in this community.

I shouldn’t be surprised by your yellow journalism tactics since your paper didn’t even bother to properly attribute the facts in the original article. Maybe this is why the print media in this country is failing because readers are tired of being politically manipulated by editorial-writer opinions on the front page.

Anna Liisa Covell