Tens of thousands of words have been written about the Sun Tran strike, including in the Weekly and on The Range, covering it from all kinds of angles. Over at the Tucson Sentinel, Blake Morlock, not known as a man of few words, wrote 2,500 more in an article with the provocative headline, Subsidy express: Who gets a lift, and who does Sun Tran take for a ride? He comes up with some interesting answers to the question: Which riders get subsidized how much by Sun Tran?
Before I give you Morlock’s figures, let’s remember that public transportation is subsidized, almost by definition. It’s a public service that’s not supposed to pay for itself. And when we think “rider subsidy,” we’re most likely to picture people we see waiting at kiosks on Speedway or Alvernon or some other large urban street, lots of them low income. We don’t think of the more well-heeled, less visible riders who use the system. But we should.
Here’s what Morlock found. If you’re looking for heavily subsidized bus lines, look at the routes that travel to and from the suburbs. For instance, an urban rider taking the No. 4 bus down Speedway is subsidized to the tune of $2.64, while a suburban rider on the Rita Ranch Express gets a $12.77 subsidy. The lowest subsidy Morlock lists is $1.78 per rider on the No. 11 that goes travels on Alvernon. The highest is — drum roll please — $25.98 per rider for the 202X from Oro Valley to Raytheon. That Oro Valley Raytheon employee who rides that express back and forth to work five days a week gets $259.80 worth of travel subsidized by the bus service.
I haven’t checked Morlock’s figures, so I can’t guarantee their accuracy, other than to say he’s an experienced investigative reporter who knows how to dig up info, so I tend to trust his facts. Here’s the passage where he lists the subsidies I cited, and more.
Let’s check out more of this subsidy, shall we: The No. 4 route down Speedway subsidized at $2.46 per rider; the No. 8 down Broadway gets $2.20 per rider; the 11 up Alvernon gets $1.78 per rider and the No. 6 down First Avenue past the Star newsroom on South Park Avenue and to the airport gets $1.86. Those are the cheap lines. The expensive lines in Sun Tran system run to Midvale Park at $6.63 per rider and along West Speedway and Pima Street at $5.53 a rider.
The smart money thinking of course is to eliminate “less-efficient” routes because the poor just need to find another way and Sun Tran should run like a bidness. Harrumph. You don’t see the hard-working makers getting a subsidy from Sun Tran in places like Oro Valley, Tanque Verde, the Foothills and Rita Ranch do you? No, even though the poor keep stealing all their hard-earned lucre, these folks muster through on their own.
They don’t need no stinking subsidy. Do they?
Mwuahahaha.
What if I told you that Sun Tran’s express routes to the suburbs — meaning no stops for rabble — marinate in city subsidies to the point of engorgement?
Yeah, the Rita Ranch Express soaks in $12.77 per rider. The Tanque Verde Express slurps up $17.97 for a pair of wingtips. The Golf Links Express right through the heart of Republican Ward 4 rakes in $25.47 per rider. They all trail the 202X straight from Oro Valley down to Raytheon, subsidized to the anthemic tune of $25.98 per rider. That’s per ride. Each way.
Moochers and takers! I’m sorry. Makers! No. Wait? What? The poor aren’t the ones ripping us off?
In all, the express routes passengers average $14.54 per rider — more than six times the riders at bus stops they blow past because they have places to be and sun stroke is for the fast-food workers.
It costs Sun Tran $312,000 per month to run these routes, or $3.7 million per year. If you’d put those savings on the table two weeks ago, the strike would be over. The contractor has $2.2 million to work with and the union was asking for $5.7 million per year — there would be enough left over to buy Sun Tran GM Kate Riley and Teamsters chief negotiator Andy Marshall each killer Italian rides for jobs well done.
To find this, I Googled “Sun Tran subsidy,” and found the bus service’s monthly reports and a comprehensive system-wide analysis on the first damn page.
This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2015.
As an Oro Valley resident and Raytheon employee who takes 203X — whose kids also happen to be in private school — I gladly forego this proclaimed bus subsidy under the condition that I don’t have to subsidize any other public services that I don’t use.
OVR going for “Most Unlikeable Commenter”.
Why is it when a service starts with the word “public” we find unlimited spending on failed ideals that produce little or no benefit to the users rather than a handout? And nothing but mindless waste of hard earned taxpayer monies.
Great article! I hope a lot of people read it. Shame on Sun Tran and Raytheon for working that deal. And then acting like the drivers and mechanics are the problem…
and shame on Oro Valley resident and Raytheon employee for your comment, disgusting and out of touch.
OVR’s salary is paid via DOD contracts…. taxpayer money.
Nuff said.
OVR’s salary is paid from DOD contracts … taxpayer money.
‘Nuff said.
Sounds like the city of ov should pay their part for they’re residents using city of Tucson subsidized services. DOD contract comment was on point.
To be fair, the longer rider saves more car-miles which is supposedly the other purpose of public transportation.
On the other hand, I don’t see the point of bus service to Rita Ranch or Oro Valley. If you choose to live 50 miles from the city you work in, that’s pretty much your fault. Riders from far flung areas should probably pay higher fees to cover the costs.
I think the adage of Statistics don’t lie but liars use statistics is apropos here.
This opinion piece that Safier is referencing is using a per rider cost as his measure which really only tells part of the story. But also brings up a more important reality:
How do we increase bus ridership from and within the suburbs? That is the issue, low ridership. Anywhere with a small number of riders will have a high subsidized cost for those routes.
An even more important reality check; Tucson does not have stereotypical neighborhoods that are all roses and republicans. Low income families, people with disabilities, environmentally conscious people, and others who want or need the bus live throughout the urban and suburban area. They are even in Oro Valley, Tanque Verde, and Rita Ranch.
That seems to be the authors biggest error, his assumption that people living in these areas are all wealthy and that the bus riders in these areas are people who don’t need it. That is a very big assumption for him to make, and that is the adage I will end with. Ass.
5th poorest city in the country. 10th in property crimes. A public school system that is now a radical chicano indoctrination center.
Yeah, let’s keep listening to liberals who’s entire life goal is total dependency on government for everyone.
“Getting All “Occupy” on Sun Tran Rider Subsidies” Translation please.
“I haven’t checked Morlock’s figures, so I can’t guarantee their accuracy.” Great reporting, TW!
There are many people who tend to use vague, generalized and parroted terms and concepts when “discussing” the strike, or anything for that matter. The purpose of Morlock’s piece, in my opinion, was to stir up more actual discussion not based on the vageries of “poor” and “rich”, “democrat” and”republican”, “takers” and “givers”. He was pointing out that subsidies aren’t only used to the advantage of those living in poverty , which is a rampant , generalized assumption made by many, including the impoverished.
Large amounts of tax payer money is missing from local, state and federal government budgets all the time. Where’s the discussion? Oh yeah, everyone’s too busy pretending to be part of fabricated in-groups and parroting their party lines against the perceived out-group to notice. It’s insanity.
Getting rid of Transdev and it’s subsidiaries is a must. Having a locally owned and operated bus system that keeps the profit as close to Tucson as possible would allow the subsidies to benefit everyone in Tucson versus many including French citizens. There are hundreds of studies, not to mention history, that show definitively that unionized industries provide far more healthy and equitable conditions for their employees. Union-busting techniques are used by union-busting firms and the companies that employee them to protect the interests of the organized management and denying employee rights to do the same and protect their interests is class warfare. Stop being pussies and whatever industry you work in show some solidarity and self esteem Tucson.
Well, all those people making six figure incomes need subsidies too. That is the American way. 😉
Over a month of not being able to work. Finally sounds like our city officials Might step up. About damn time. Suntran management and Teamsters all need to take a hike. Let the drivers reapply if they decide to return. Maybe they can work day labor in the meantime for$8.00 an hour with no benefits.
Where do these subsidies come from, the city, Sun Tran, or the management company that is doing a miserable job managing transportation?
If the city gets gov’ment subsidies (food stamps) and gives some of them to Transdev so the Teamsters can legally refuse to eat what Mama (Sun Tran) can now afford to put on the table for the riders (peas). Haven’t the drivers already used their portion of subsidies to pay Transdev? Is mama gonna get more food stamps now? City tax hike? Fare increase?