Jeff Outhit of the K-W Record is certainly taking the lead on this local, hot potato political item . Last Saturday's front page Local Section story is "Region warned over transit secrecy". Jeff also has a smaller article titled "Rail transit piles risk on risk, scholar says". This second article is very unsettling because it shows the unfortunate human tendency for those in charge to gild the lily when it comes to building support for their pet or legacy projects. Make no mistake, I am a supporter of public transit versus private automobile use. IN THEORY it is fabulous ! I spent five of my adult years in Toronto and the public transit system of buses and subways were unbelievably great. In Waterloo Region I worry that we are comparing apples to oranges. Toronto has an excellent east to west subway (Bloor Line) and an equally excellent north to south subway (Yonge Line). The bus system also runs east to west and north to south. It is easy to learn and understand, it is frequent and it works. Just about everything that Waterloo Region does not have.
Again I repeat I like public transit because environmentally it is superior to individuals driving more cars and spewing out more air pollution. What I don't like is being bulls...... and bafflegabbed. Jeff Outhit's article makes it clear that that is the norm when selling expensive public transit to citizens. Ridership rates are grossly inflated and costs grossly underestimated. The article concerning transit secrecy is in regards to the concept of public-private partnerships. This proposal is supposed to reduce the risk of cost and time overuns by having a private business partner involved. Jeff has interviewed two experts who both focus on the need for key information on these partnerships being made public. This information would include the tradeoffs of profits going to a private enterprise in exchange for the aforementioned risk reduction in cost overuns if they are being assumed by the private developer. In a nutshell I would suggest that these two experts are essentially asking the Region to be more transparent than they currently have been. I agree. Afterall it's our money.
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