Video - Elk Grove Citizen Asks If Elk Grove eTran Service Failures Are 'A Ploy'

October 15, 2015 | One of the many challenges facing the Elk Grove City Council is whether or not to eliminate the immensely popular ...

October 15, 2015 |

One of the many challenges facing the Elk Grove City Council is whether or not to eliminate the immensely popular commuter routes from its eTran bus services.

On one hand, the Elk Grove City Council wants to shed its go-it-alone rogue philosophy that has in hobbled the city for 15 years. Be from its failure to get the Sacramento LAFCo to approve its massive expansion scheme to its messy break with Sacramento Regional Transit years ago, the philosophy has hurt Elk Grove's reputation.

To remedy that, the city has openly expressed support to cut popular eTran commuter routes to Downtown Sacramento to feed riders to Sacramento Regional Transit's new Light Rail Blue Line, to demonstrate to LAFCo that it can cooperate on a regional basis, and to save a little money. Of course, while bus riders may not have the political clout of Region Business, or money and influence of gas station and fast food mogul Gil Moore, they do vote and when they get sufficiently pissed off, they could take their anger out on incumbents who cut their beloved service.  

This is a fact that probably hasn't escaped Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis and Council Members Steve Detrick and Darren Suen as all three face elections about one year from now.

During public comment at Wednesday night's city council meeting one Elk Grove citizen who also self-identified as a state worker, noted a series of recent service eTran failures and asked, "We are wondering if the service is declining as a ploy to force people to take the light rail..."

That is question, or some variant, we suspect city and regional transit officials will hear in the coming weeks. It will be worth watching to see how the city council reacts.    




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4 comments

Warren Buffett said...

I suspect it's not a "ploy", but rather the real consequence of an unsustainable, immense and foolish financial burden the city took on when it decided to "go it alone". Are those 'green' chickens finally coming home to roost?

I wonder if Cooper's recently-signed bill which now frees up an additional $800,000 a year will go back into the green chickens, or will it help pump up a soccer stadium and high dive aquatic center?

Oh well, there's always a sales tax increase that can be placed on the ballot, with promises of prosperity, free-range green chickens to take us downtown, and plenty of food joints when you get back home at the end of the day! Long Live The Grove!

Connie said...

Most don’t know that 10 million dollars was wasted on buses that were “bought on the cheap” which then soon thereafter were deemed unsafe and were put in the e-tran graveyard.

We have had a series of transit managers who have come and gone, one in the dead of night, leaving two million dollars of unpaid bills hidden in his desk. A former Asst. City Manager had to take the fall for that fiasco.

e-Tran was doomed from the start and it is damn shame Elk Grove residents – and yes, voters -- forced to switch from RT to e-tran are the ones that are going to suffer here once again. How many remember residents telling the Council “Don’t do it!” [See a recurring theme here over the years evidenced by the public comment on the soccer complex at a recent council meeting.]

If the plan is to downsize e-tran because of money – which the Council tries to do every year -- the city needs to contract with RT to provide commuter buses to downtown and let e-tran serve Elk Grove proper. If that isn't a viable plan, then what is next for these riders?

Alanis Morissette said...

Isn't it ironic.... After years of poor service, and even though it appears there have been problems recently, the city council has a product that most users are satisfied with, they want to dump it....Isn't it ironic?

Anonymous said...

Sorry...off topic.

Wouldn't it be great to see an Elk Grove Progress Report (EGPR)? A report to communicate to residents the progress our community is making toward realizing the City of Elk Grove's Goals. This would include a list of Projects, monies budgeted & spent, progress in completion and how revenues and expenditures are tracking for the last ten years.

On topic....how can you make Elk Grove a Destination City when there are so many transportation problems for our workers? 1 1/2 hours late to work must be a no-brainer for our city leaders and that we have a hugh problem. Have searched on the cities web site about public hearings mentioned Wed. eve, but to no avail.

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