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Colleagues, Veronique Bellamy is a Green in Longmont running for RTD Board, and now that Greater Boulder has endorsed her, it probably makes sense to consider whether the state party should endorse her as well. RTD board is a nonpartisan position, but that doesn't mean we can't publicly support. It's proper for the state council to decide on this outside of a nomination convention.Thoughts? Should this go to a proposal?Her letter follows.++++++++++++++++++1050 16th Ave #C-6Longmont, CO 8050118 September 2016Dear Sir or Madam:My name is Véronique Bellamy and I am running for the RTD Director I position to unseat our current director, Judy Lubow. The reasons I am running are plentiful, but there are three main reasons: the first is to end our transit privatization, the second is to increase transit ridership via improving service quality and frequency; and the third is to increase public accountability. I believe that our current director has failed to accomplish these objectives and our transit system is suffering for it.Transit privatization is causing so many problems. From the underpayment of drivers for private, multinational transit companies such as First Transit and Veolia, to the consistent, high-profile breakdowns on the A-line, one must question the wisdom of privatization. The late Dr. Paul Mees, a professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and expert on public transit, compared the privatized Melbourne transit system to the public Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). While the TTC carries three times the passengers that Melbourne’s transit system does, the TTC operates on less subsidies. We see similar problems with bus riders subsidizing the P3-funded Canada Line in Vancouver and the London taxpayer having to buy out two P3 providers, MetroNet and Tube Lines.Put simply, the cost of maintaining transit privatization will make delivering on FasTracks less possible. We must act now to remove this millstone from our necks. Both of my competitors, Judy Lubow and Lee Kemp, ignore the realities of transit privatization and continue to push it in spite of the research on this subject. Privatization is a proven failure and just giving it the new name of “public private partnerships” does nothing to help solve the problems it causes.Secondly, our northern communities suffer from poor transit that is not improved because, as Judy Lubow states, the ridership is low. This attitude is self-defeating, as it does not address the problems of why ridership is low. We must insist on a comprehensive transit study that will result in a grid-based system. When Houston undertook a three-year study of its transit system, redrawing its routes, they saw a three-fold increase in ridership. While Judy and Lee are keen to implement a system based on the Centennial experiment of offering Lyft rides to make the first/last mile connection, this is a poor solution. It is more privatization, replicates the negative environmental impact of single occupancy vehicle rides and the drivers for Lyft and Uber are often underpaid and underregulated. This creates more problems for disabled passengers and it is questionable how the Colorado Civil Rights Act will apply in this scenario.Thirdly, you can tell how low public accountability is by asking the average person on the streets of Longmont what RTD is up to. Ask the people how they can find out what RTD is up to. Hell, I would even wager that if you ask the average Longmonter on the street what year FasTracks will be built, you can hear a range of answers from 2035 to “when I’m dead”. The situation is not helped with Judy Lubow voting against public accountability and Lee Kemp entering into employment which is a clear conflict of interest.In closing, we need to cultivate a culture of transit. We need less excuses and more results. We need more riders on the RTD board and less merchants of chaos. I hope that I can help to right the ship. I hope that I can secure the endorsement of the Green Party, as I believe that increasing transit ridership, taking more cars off the road and increasing public accountability are values we can all get behind.Warmly,Dr. Véronique Marie Bellamy, D.Phil
I certainly oppose privatization. I would like to see discussion comparing the candidates, and will do my own research before weighing in on endorsement. I have the impression that privatization, at least of highways (which makes mass transit less possible) has come from the CDOT. Can anyone help clarify the role of RTD vs. CDOT and even the Governor's office?Michael HaugheyJC Greens
I certainly oppose privatization. I would like to see discussion comparing the candidates, and will do my own research before weighing in on endorsement. I have the impression that privatization, at least of highways (which makes mass transit less possible) has come from the CDOT. Can anyone help clarify the role of RTD vs. CDOT and even the Governor's office?Michael HaugheyJC Greens
Okay, while I did lose my election, I feel that addressing this topic is important. RTD and CDOT do seem to have a lot of overlap, given that RTD uses a lot of CDOT's infrastructure (US 36, I-25, US 287, CO 119, etc). While RTD and CDOT do coordinate (as we saw with the P3 with Plenary Roads used to renovate 36), RTD has a role that only stretches to the boundaries of the District. Basically, if you're obligated to pay RTD sales tax in an area, you're likely in the RTD area. CDOT, on the other hand, is statewide. Additionally, RTD is ONLY responsible for maintaining their infrastructure. RTD is not obligated to do any repairs of the public roadways, but they are obligated to repair their park & rides (and how well they fulfill this responsibility is proportional to the income level of the area surrounding the facilities needing improvement) and even things like the bus ramps at Broomfield Park & Ride.
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