RT's proposed fair increase.

Off the top of my head, I'd have to say that even with the increase in fair, my car is still a whole lot more money to operate. A quick calculation puts my vehicle expenditures at around $3,800 (payments, insurance, gas and maintenance) vs. $960 for a years worth of RT monthly passes. Its been a few years since they have done so, and it sounds like a prudent fiscal move. However, I would like to add a few things to RT's agenda:

1) Light Rail should be more conveniently located, say, like stopping at Sac State. Who to blame: Sac States administrators who killed that idea. Or, in my world, it should have run right down the middle of J Street all the way to Rancho Cordova (or farther).

2) Bike lanes and more bike lanes. Yeah, everyone says it dangerous to ride on the streets. Hello! That's because there are no bike lanes. There should be bike lanes on Freeport Blvd., on Broadway, on J Street, on Folsom Blvd. The list goes on. There should be bike lanes that parallel light rail lines, 'cause that would make way too much sense to actually put them there. Imagine how nice it would be to have bicycle lanes that went on for miles with little or no interruption and with hardly any interaction with motorvehicles. Wow! I'm getting excited just thinking about this concept...

3) Create more bus express trips, so we can get somewhere a little faster than five times what it takes to do so by automobile. I recently rode the bus and transferred to light rail to get from Fulton Ave to Fruitridge-approximate travel time: one and a half hours. Wait a second, that was a beautiful thing, having all that time to read and be unproductive; just enjoying life. Nevermind on this one. We need to slow down more.

4) Grant amnesty for groups or individuals who stand up to thugs, out of control kids or anyone else who is disruptive, rude or violent on public transportation. If you are an ass, you deserve what you get and those giving it to you should be allowed to walk away after wackin' your dumb ass.

Do not complain about how this will affect seniors. Screw 'em. Most of them have sold us out for their own pensions, welfare, medical care and whatever else you can name so they can benefit from lower taxes and earlier retirement then we will ever see. Yes, I know there are exceptions and that's what social programs are for. Go ahead, ask your baby boomer parents how much they paid for college; that should give you a pretty good idea of how much they really care about your welfare. Oh, here's a good one: instead of asking how much their parents gave them to help buy their first home, ask them what percentage of the purchase price it was. Then compare that to what they did or did not give you. Kinda ugly, huh?

RT clearly needs to increase fairs and we do need more public transit. Maybe this will spur more people involved in the planning process, and help enlighten people like Britney Williams, who, in today's Sacramento Bee, was quoted as saying, "I mean, I don't see the reason for them to raise the prices," and how it may inspire more people to ride bikes, drive or, in her case, get a license. On the other hand, she did mention that it may inspire people to ride bikes...