Bus service in my area to be cut by more than 50%

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There was a proposition on my county's ballot to have taxes raised by .03% in order to keep public transportation going.

It now failed to pass, because too many people in my county are redneck chickenshit motherf***ers, who love declaring war on the poor, the disabled, and the people who are unable to drive.

In the next year, service will be cut so that there will be no buses after 7PM, and no buses on the weekend.

My quality of life is going to be seriously degraded, and NOBODY GIVES A f**k! I may as well pick up another bottle of Jim Beam, sit in front of my television, and waste the rest of my life away. That is exactly how the voters in my county want me to spend the rest of my life, apparently. They want me to die a lonely and miserable death. Why should I deny them that now?

That's terrible. You need to get a petition going or speak to your local government representative. Are there workers who use the buses, who don't work Mon-Fri 9-5 and rely on the service to get to and from work? Surely they could give the cause some weight.

Meantime, are you a fair bit from where you want to get to? Is it feasible/possible for you to cycle meantime, if you have access to a bike?

Let me guess. Your county also voted for Romney.

That's terrible! Bus service is almost non-existent where I live - I'm in a semi-rural area on the fringes of a large county, and services were cut in my town about ten years ago. Fortunately I drive, but my car is OLD and I can't really afford to drive much, so it would be nice to have better public transportation. I don't understand, with energy prices what they are, and of course environmental concerns, why any community wants to reduce the ability to use public transit.

But we live in a culture in which the car is a status symbol. That just about sums it up.

What is obvious is that I will be denied the right to have a life several months from now.

What about the countless disabled people who ride the bus to get to work and to medical appointments? The full-time students who don't have enough cash flow to get their own cars? Apparently, nobody cares about these people anymore. It's all about not paying the taxes, and "let the poor eat cake!"

My life is over. I see no reason to continue living in a world like this. Pretty soon, I will be stuck in my apartment all weekend long, because I won't be able to get anywhere. Ah, and I'll also have a curfew - I'll have to be home before 7PM, or else.

That's not living.

My life is over. The voters in my county have officially ended my life, and they are proud of it. Great, I get to eat cake now. I've been crying nonstop all morning. I see no reason to continue going on after something like this.

I understand how you feel. I don't drive and can't ride a bike so if the buses were cut back in my area I'd be stuck with walking everywhere and taking cabs if it's important and I can afford them.

What's wrong with a bicycle?

Get a bike, walk, carpool. Some places there just isn't enough demand for there to be a bus. Not much one can do to change that so the only other option is to move somewhere more suitable to your needs.

They've cut a few lines I depend on as well here in Portland. Trimet, as is every public transit system, is not self-sustaining, which is fine. But it ran short a few million dollars this year. They loose most of their money on people who don't pay, and the Unions won't let anyone touch their contract so that budget shortfall now falls on the daily riders with higher prices and certain lines eliminated. If only everyone paid for their ticket, none of this would be an issue... like if everyone filed their taxes, we would cut the deficit in half, in no time.

Have you thought about moving somewhere else? A big city would probably have more services that could help you out.

An off note, the poor pay no taxes. The bottom 15 % in American life payed no taxes under Clinton, and President Bush expanded that to the lowest 30%.

This should not be subject to a referendum at all. If Tacoma has no bus service it's evidence of barbarism that reflects very badly on its leadership.