Tag Archive: The Rapid

Apr
05
2011

Appeal Filed in Response to The Rapid Bus System’s Vindictive Freedom of Information Act Reply

The Rapid's FOIA Bomb

Today Jeff Steinport, co-founder of Kent County Families for Fiscal Responsibility (KCFFR) and manager of the group’s ITP Watch project, filed a Freedom of Information Act appeal with Don Lawless, the chairman of the Interurban Transit Partnership board (also known as The Rapid). This appeal is a result of The Rapid’s vindictive and illegal response to Steinport’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request relating to The Rapid’s operations and expenses.

The original FOIA request from Steinport asked for information on The Rapid’s ridership on a per-route basis, the amount The Rapid spends with several companies, and more detail on the proposed Silver Line bus route, which was rejected by voters in 2009. The original FOIA letter requested a waiver of fees because the information asked for was in the public’s interest and the public has a right to know how their money is spent before they are asked for a tax increase. State law provides for a waiver of such fees if the disclosure is in the public interest. The Rapid is requesting a 31% property tax increase on May 3 with much of the new tax increase going to fund the failed Silver Line bus route.

The Rapid denied the fee waiver request for no valid reason and proceeded to waste dozens of hours of staff time and nearly 1,700 pages of printouts. The resulting bill was for $450, just for asking for important information on how The Rapid operates.

“All government agencies have a procedure where they notify the FOIA requester that the cost will be over $50, yet the Rapid did not do this, contrary to their own practices,” said Jeff Steinport. “In fact, The Rapid is sending a message to taxpayers that they’d better not ask how The Rapid spends their money, and if they do, The Rapid will slap them with a bill for hundreds of dollars just for asking.”

The Rapid was judged the least transparent government entity in Kent County after a survey by KCFFR showed how little it made available online. The Rapid received a transparency score of “D-”, a result of virtually no financial or operational data being available to the public.

The appeal filed today demonstrates how The Rapid violates both the spirit and letter of state law and how The Rapid fears public disclosure of its spending and operations. “Taxpayers in Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Walker, Wyoming, and Grandville need to ask themselves if a government agency which consistently misleads the public and shows contempt for taxpayers deserves more money,” said Steinport.

For much more detail, read the full 21 page appeal here.

The appeal is also available online, posted on the Scribd web site.

Apr
13
2009

The Rapid’s New Silver Line – Another Waste of Taxpayer Money

We urge the voters of Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Walker, Wyoming, and Grandville to vote NO on the Tuesday, May 5th ballot. The ITP is asking for another tax increase to fund the so-called “Silver Line” bus route. Why should you vote NO?

  • The Silver Line will actually increase congestion on Division Avenue because two (of the four) lanes of traffic will be cut off to normal traffic during peak hours, so that the new BRT buses will have priority over all other traffic. That means that during rush hours, traffic will only be allowed one lane each way on Division Avenue.
  • Rapid buses already travel this “new” route. The new Silver Line will only duplicate efforts and accomplish nothing new.
  • This new bus route is being called a Bus Rapid Transit line (BRT). However, the length of the route is 9.87 miles and the travel time for that route is 36 minutes. That works out to a little over an average of 16 miles per hour. How do they call this rapid?
  • Increasing taxes by $70 million during the worst recession since the Great Depression will only serve to kill more jobs in the Grand Rapids area.
  • Very, very, very few of the residents of the ITP area will see any benefit whatsoever. Residents of Walker, Grandville, and East Grand Rapids will see no benefit at all.
  • The dedicated lanes for these buses will eliminate crucial parking for the small businesses along Division.

Mar
27
2007

The Rapid as Corporate Welfare

corporate greedYou may not be aware that the RAPID offers a shuttle service to and from the Gerald Ford Airport. If you’re not familiar with the Air Porter service, here are the details. The shuttle goes between the airport and three downtown hotels: The Amway, the Courtyard by Marriott, and the Days Inn. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Well, there’s a snag. The shuttle operates 24 hours a day on a set schedule, leaving the airport every half hour. The one-way fare is $15 and a round trip is $25. The problem is that the shuttle actually loses money. How much? It is estimated to lose $103,000 in fiscal year 2007. Guess who pays the difference. That’s right, you and I, the taxpayers.

This is called corporate welfare. The taxpayers of the Grand Rapids area are subsidizing shuttle service for three private downtown hotels. Do you really think that Amway needs tax dollars to get customers to stay at their hotel? Doubtful. But somehow they convinced the board members of the unelected Interurban Transit Authority (The Rapid) to foot the bill. Taxpayers get soaked again.

Even more interesting is the fact that an average of only about 1 person per hour uses this service. Any business operating like this would be bankrupt faster than you could say “Enron.” However, because the RAPID is just another government bureaucracy, we, the taxpayers, get to pay for their poor financial decisions.

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