Good morning Ms. Kelleman, members of the Board, elected officials and other dignitaries present.
I cannot be the only person in this situation. Yes, I have a
reliable car, a clean license, and can afford to drive and pay to park downtown.
But I don’t want to! Why should I be forced to part with $25 to $30/day just to
keep my car close to my work? And be forced to get stuck in traffic both
direction? That’s nuts.
Let me put it simply: I take the bus by choice. I do not
want that choice removed.
35 years ago, I had four cars and put 60,000 miles on the
fleet each year. But a temporary move made a transit commute possible, and I
found I liked it. On our next permanent move in 1991, we chose to live near a
bus line. In three short years, we retired three of those cars and lived with
only one for the next 18 years. The money we saved not keeping multiple cars on
the road allowed us to pay off the mortgage eight years early, paid for my
Masters degree, allowed us to live on one moderate income, and we still became
debt free by our 50s. All because I could use the transit system for over 90%
of my travel needs.
In 1995 I was only making $36,000 a year. I don’t know what
that is in today’s money but it sure isn’t six-digit territory! Using the bus
saved my family $12K/year in today’s money, 18 years in a row. That $12K is
triple-A’s estimate of what it costs to run a car for a year.
I want everyone to have the same opportunities I had! I ask
everyone here, what would you do with an extra $12K/year? Pay off debt? Get out
from under that college loan or that second mortgage? Go back to school? Take a
vacation? Start a business? My wife and I not only paid off the mortgage early,
we also put both our kids through college. Further still, not keeping
two/three/four cars running helped us keep the one older car running longer, so
we were able to put off its replacement by five years, then pay cash in full
when we did replace it.
In short, transit is not a government handout for the poor.
For those of us a little higher on the ladder, it meant major quality of life
improvements, all because I chose to use transit.
To reiterate:
· I also want the 2011 cuts reversed.
· I also want the 2007 cuts reversed.
· I also want the 2002 cuts reversed
SO THAT everyone can have the same opportunities that I had!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak.
