We need subsidized public transportation.
We need subsidized public transportation.
by Richard LeGrande and Jim McCue
As of the writing of this article, the Ship of Zion transportation project is unfunded. Riders are advised that, though a transportation agreement has been made in Harrisburg, operation is suspended until the money comes in. All those who recognize the need for public transportation, especially for those unable to get to work, are asked to contact their representatives and make known to them - We don't have a functioning city without public transportation.
Subsidized transportation is vital to business.
We can go around and around and argue till dizzy about which came first the chicken or the egg in regards to the need for affordable transportation and why should taxpayers pay for people they don't even know to get free rides to work and other necessities. But when it comes down to it it's a waste of time to try to judge whether a rider should or should not have managed their money better or worked harder or they wouldn't be in the fix of not being able to get to where they need to go. Bottom line is are you going to pitch in as a citizen and support public transit so that the city doesn't shut down, or are you just going to go into your philosophical shell and say I got mine and they deserve what problems they have and let things get even worse until all levels of our society are in the same morass as the poor are now.
We must maintain our productive capacity.
Productivity measured by businesspeople is often quite different than what you and I might judge to be productive. It doesn't matter to an individual business what is going on in the larger society - until things break down and businesses suffer because many can't afford a business's goods/services or their employees can't afford to get to work on their pay. Well that's what we have now, a whole system crisis. We're all involved and we're going to have to work together.
It appears that the hundreds of people who use the Ship of Zion weekly are still under the political radar screen . The State Legislature passed H.B. 1590 and the Governor signed the bill. Subsection 1516 authorized PennDOT to give high priority to providing financial assistance as match for federal programs such as
Job Access and Reverse Commute. Ship of Zion is a Job Access and Reverse Commute program. PennDot must notify Port Authority on the amount of funding for such programs and that costs for the programs can be incurred. The Ship of Zion will be ready to resume operation within days of our notification.
We would like to thank our riders for telling their Ship of Zion stories to the lawmakers and letting them know the importance of such programs to our community and ourselves.
We called, wrote and e-mailed our legislators and won the Harrisburg budget battle. We got on their radar screen and they responded to our need.
We have not won the public transportation war until the Ship of Zion is back making lives better in Hazelwood. We must direct even more energy to our local and county legislators, PennDot and Port Authority. Call, e-mail, write or visit our county executive , our city councilpersons and PennDot. Let us get on their
radar screens. Let them know the importance of the Ship of Zion to our community and lives.
by Richard LeGrande and Jim McCue
As of the writing of this article, the Ship of Zion transportation project is unfunded. Riders are advised that, though a transportation agreement has been made in Harrisburg, operation is suspended until the money comes in. All those who recognize the need for public transportation, especially for those unable to get to work, are asked to contact their representatives and make known to them - We don't have a functioning city without public transportation.
Subsidized transportation is vital to business.
We can go around and around and argue till dizzy about which came first the chicken or the egg in regards to the need for affordable transportation and why should taxpayers pay for people they don't even know to get free rides to work and other necessities. But when it comes down to it it's a waste of time to try to judge whether a rider should or should not have managed their money better or worked harder or they wouldn't be in the fix of not being able to get to where they need to go. Bottom line is are you going to pitch in as a citizen and support public transit so that the city doesn't shut down, or are you just going to go into your philosophical shell and say I got mine and they deserve what problems they have and let things get even worse until all levels of our society are in the same morass as the poor are now.
We must maintain our productive capacity.
Productivity measured by businesspeople is often quite different than what you and I might judge to be productive. It doesn't matter to an individual business what is going on in the larger society - until things break down and businesses suffer because many can't afford a business's goods/services or their employees can't afford to get to work on their pay. Well that's what we have now, a whole system crisis. We're all involved and we're going to have to work together.
It appears that the hundreds of people who use the Ship of Zion weekly are still under the political radar screen . The State Legislature passed H.B. 1590 and the Governor signed the bill. Subsection 1516 authorized PennDOT to give high priority to providing financial assistance as match for federal programs such as
Job Access and Reverse Commute. Ship of Zion is a Job Access and Reverse Commute program. PennDot must notify Port Authority on the amount of funding for such programs and that costs for the programs can be incurred. The Ship of Zion will be ready to resume operation within days of our notification.
We would like to thank our riders for telling their Ship of Zion stories to the lawmakers and letting them know the importance of such programs to our community and ourselves.
We called, wrote and e-mailed our legislators and won the Harrisburg budget battle. We got on their radar screen and they responded to our need.
We have not won the public transportation war until the Ship of Zion is back making lives better in Hazelwood. We must direct even more energy to our local and county legislators, PennDot and Port Authority. Call, e-mail, write or visit our county executive , our city councilpersons and PennDot. Let us get on their
radar screens. Let them know the importance of the Ship of Zion to our community and lives.
posted by St. Jim the Composter at 9:15 AM
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