Arkansas Blog

Neo Cons, like a basket of rocks, only dumber.

Soon, we'll be back to the days of private fire departments.

I was going to respond, but I couldn't top The Levee's comment! Yet another reason to dump every Republican in sight...

I was as proud of our Alltel Shuttle and the Riverfest Shuttle as I was of the River Cities Travel Center and the streetcar. Tens of thousands of central Arkansas residents learned that frequent bus service could be effective and even fun, not to mention cheap. The Federal rule is, as the bloggers suspect, a total payback by the Bush administration to the private bus charter companies, none of whom have a clue about providing a community service. Write, call, fax your congressional delegation...Congress came close to stopping this from happening last year but got sidetracked with trifling matters like an idiotic war, when to pull the plug on a coma victim, and things in between. In the meantime, It Was Great While It Lasted!!

Yet another example of federal meddling trumping common sense.

WOW! I would think people would be approving this.

Less buses running means less global warming and people walking and getting exercise. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

>>>"Less buses running means less global warming and people walking and getting exercise. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone."<<<

Yes, indeedy... instead of a single bus, you'll now have 40 pickups, SUVs, and cars driving the same or similar route, twice the traffic congestion (assuming one bus takes up the road space of two cars) and somewhere between two to three times the fuel consumption.

Incidentally, Alltel has no bike racks or bike parking, which is about the only other alternative to walking in to an event.

"...CAT would be dropping bus shuttles to Alltel Arena events on account of federal rules meant to help private bus companies..."

When President Shit for Brains leaves office we're going to realize that we only thought we knew what a horrid president he's been. Evidently Rove and his gang of Liberty grads reached down into the bowels of government and altered every program/document they could get their greedy corporate hands on. From attaching no-condom/birth-control clauses to programs designed to help the world's poor (abstinence only is not birth control, it's tax money going to religious zealots) to turning over the military to private contractors, it's been one purge after another. This bus crap is stupid, ineffective and will make everyone but a handful of rich folk unhappy.

One of the worst privatization programs, however, started before Monkeyboy (I believe). It's the privatizing of our jails/prisons. Good god what a f***ed up idea. We've struggled for centuries to ensure that our prisons aren't hell holes that turn non-violent criminals into monsters before they're sent back to us and that they're places where our Constitution still applies. As bad as some police can be, I'd rather face a system where justice, rather than profit, governs.

Then there's the selling of our infrastructure, toll roads specifically...

The good news, I guess, is that once our public entities are all privatized we should be due hefty tax refunds...we're going to need em to pay our corporate masters...and Chinese lessons.

And where will all the people who are forced to dirve to Alltel and to Riverfest going to park?

"While Riverfest will continue to offer shuttle service through a private contractor, schedules and pick up locations have been modified."

Anyone have the who/what/where on this? It's only 3 weeks away. Might get the word out soon.

Be hard to beat the $1 (or close) War Memorial shuttle CATA provided. Super-convenient. I smell a snafu brewing.

If a private company offers shuttle service to Riverfest, where will the shuttle riders park? Surely, a private company that has forced the city to give up this service in the name of fair trade would never expect to use the War Memorial parking area to underwrite their for-profit venture.

From your mouth, Pavel, to...

"RIVERFEST 2008 SHUTTLE provided by Coach USA

Round Trip Fare is $2 (paid upon initial boarding)
Little Rock:
The Little Rock shuttle will depart from the east side of War Memorial Stadium at Markham and Van Buren Streets in Little Rock and will drop off on La Harpe Avenue behind the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Building. Return shuttles to will pick up in Little Rock where they dropped off.
North Little Rock:
The North Little Rock shuttle will depart from 24th and Main Streets in North Little Rock and will drop off at 2nd and Cumberland Street in Little Rock. Return shuttles to North Little Rock will pick up in Little Rock where they dropped off.

Some shuttle vehicles are wheelchair accessible.
Shuttle hours:
Friday, May 23. 5:30 p.m. through close of last event
Saturday, May 24. 9:30 a.m. through close of last event
Sunday, May 25 11:30 a.m. through close of last event
Shuttles will operate for 30 to 45 minutes following the close of the last event, allowing time for riders to return to the pick-up points. Passengers will board the bus at for their return trip at the same location they got off the bus.
Shuttle fare: Round trip shuttle fare is $2"

-Riverfest website.

Thanks for the information, Lew. Two bucks is still a good deal, but I fear that loading and unloading on Coach buses will be more difficult than on city buses, especially for those of us with mobility "issues" and those dragging along chairs and other equipment.