Government Bureaucrats: Do they Work for You?

If you work for the North Central Transit District, the answer is clearly “no” as this story illustrates. Of course, if you saw the recent stories in the Albuquerque Journal, (and here) you’d found out that the very same NCRTD which tells their PIO’s not to talk to the media

• Poured 78 cents into its administration  (for every dollar it spends).
• The executive director has received pay raises worth 33 percent over five years (she now makes almost $96K a year), while per passenger trips carry a price tag of $34.55.
• The district blames the high cost of running the program on being new and growing pains. That’s more than a little disingenuous considering it has been in gear since 2005. It’s even more so considering its twin to the south, the Rio Metro Regional Transit District, spends $21.20 per passenger trip by comparison.

Of course, this is all made possible due to the 1/8th cent gross receipts tax hike passed to fund the RailRunner and its feeder system. A private bus system could do this better and more cheaply if the market demands it and government gets out of the way.