Meet the New Loss... Same as the Old Loss
Who can forget the now defunct Greater Laconia Transit Authority- GLTA? You remember- those expensive white busses that used to ply the hiways and back lanes throughout the Lakes Region- you know... the ones that were always empty. Guess what?
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They're Baaaaack! That's right- the area, relatively unchanged since the last public transit authority went belly-up due to lack of money and interest, now finds itself with a new public transportation company- (a jobs program for well-connected bus drivers?) but already saddled with the same problems that plagued its predecessor: money- or the lack thereof. The August 3rd Citizen (hat tip John H of Laconia) tells us
A lack of funding for public transportation in the region was a major issue of discussion as the Lakes Region Planning Commission was given an introduction on the new Winnipesaukee Transit System.
The proposed transit system will replace the defunct Greater Laconia Transit Agency, or GLTA. Starting later this month, the Winnipesaukee Transit System will conduct runs between Laconia, Belmont, Tilton, and Franklin.
With funding being the biggest problem- gotta pay that executive director's salary, you know- the budding bus line that no one will use is naturally coming for our collective wallets. Again from the Citizen, quoting the transit company's co-organizer Mickey McIver:
"Nashua and Manchester have public transportation systems, the money comes from the feds," he said. "Concord provides a significant part for matching funds," though the Lakes Region sets aside "not a dime," he said...."[T]he public needs it and it's time for the community to decide whether or not they want it."
Did you catch the "not one dime part?" We must keep it that way. We don't want it!
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FLASHBACK: When commenting on the "supposed" demise of GLTA in an April 2005 Daily Sun column, I wrote:
What will replace the sight of the publicly funded, dollar-hemorrhaging enterprise’s perpetually empty (noticeable when you peer through the window tint designed to conceal that fact) busses traveling the area’s lanes and highways?
I then cautioned readers
not to count GLTA out yet- wasteful government programs never give up without some sort of fight.
Yet another prediction comes true...
