I am responding to the very large and long article in the Source with your name on top. (A One Way Trip, tSW Nov. 27)
I see a slanted view and a side-taking which bothers me as the newspaper needs to report, and only report - unless the paper is taking sides - and that could be put up-front in bold letters. It's been voted down three times; its shoddy beginning is an embarrassment. (Jodie Barram said it best in her interview: "transit was a mistake and someone dropped the ball").
Deschutes River Woods was another embarrassment...to include DRW was only to expand the population to a point where more grant money would be available...and the transit system talks to DRW meetings was a sham.
So, now on with all the Schmidt talk. How does a former "anyone" write a formal letter to the council? Is it one letter or seven letters and can anyone write a "formal letter" to city gov't?
Citizens Committee on Transit? (sic) That's a lobby group; what else can it be? And do they ride the bus, except to get the vote out from riders?
And the all important ridership figures...Check that one. If one rider rides twice and/or transfers, that is four riders...check it out...instead of 28,000 riders, that could be misleading and only 13,000 actual people got on the bus and were counted 4 times. Enough said!!!
The article does side with transit. No talk of how expensive it is - millions of dollars each year. Also, the transit hub on Bear Creek road? A transit hub is a transit center; it's a downtown thing - not out on 15th. Check it out.
So, if you got down this far, you have readers for transit and against transit. Do some fair reporting.
Tom Filcich, Bend
