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LTD should revamp student funding policy
Editorial
by Emerald Editorial Board |
PUBLISHED ON 1/26/07 IN Commentary
The Lane Transit District provides a services to University Students in the form of free bus rides, as long as students provide a valid student ID. In recent days, the Programs Finance Committee has questioned whether the funding model under which LTD currently operates - simply using enrollment projections to determine future budgetary needs - is suitable. As some members of the PFC have stated, many students do not use LTD, yet students have been asked to cough up another $732,000 for next year.
The LTD is an independent business whose interests are based on monetary needs. It provides a service, and for that students pay a hefty fee. It is understandable that LTD would want to be compensated for its services, but the way LTD's contract is negotiated takes into account the University's total enrollment - not simply students who use the bus. Clearly, LTD wants to avoid free rider problems; and in this case, a "free rider" problem is literal and not simply an economic metaphor.
The PFC is correct, however, to question LTD's budgeting logic: If only 2,300 students ride the bus regularly, as Student Sen. Jacob Daniels estimates, why should the rest of the University community pick up the tab for services they do not receive? Tying LTD's contract budget to enrollment - thereby allowing LTD to ask for a 7.7 percent budget increase, which is well above the PFC's recommendation - is wrongheaded and acts as an oversimplification of the numbers.
As a service that serves the Eugene/Springfield area, LTD requires a constant flow of money. Nevertheless, it should not be the University's job to subsidize a business, especially when many students do not directly benefit from the service. For too long, LTD has remained fiscally unaccountable. The least students should expect from LTD is an independent audit of its user numbers.
At the Jan. 11 PFC hearing, LTD did not provide any sort of data on student usage. On Jan. 24 , however, LTD provided rider numbers from a five-day period in 2005. LTD counted approximately 6,600 student IDs using an electronic system, which translated to an estimated 2,300 individual students when transfers and multiple rides were accounted for.
The LTD is an independent business whose interests are based on monetary needs. It provides a service, and for that students pay a hefty fee. It is understandable that LTD would want to be compensated for its services, but the way LTD's contract is negotiated takes into account the University's total enrollment - not simply students who use the bus. Clearly, LTD wants to avoid free rider problems; and in this case, a "free rider" problem is literal and not simply an economic metaphor.
The PFC is correct, however, to question LTD's budgeting logic: If only 2,300 students ride the bus regularly, as Student Sen. Jacob Daniels estimates, why should the rest of the University community pick up the tab for services they do not receive? Tying LTD's contract budget to enrollment - thereby allowing LTD to ask for a 7.7 percent budget increase, which is well above the PFC's recommendation - is wrongheaded and acts as an oversimplification of the numbers.
As a service that serves the Eugene/Springfield area, LTD requires a constant flow of money. Nevertheless, it should not be the University's job to subsidize a business, especially when many students do not directly benefit from the service. For too long, LTD has remained fiscally unaccountable. The least students should expect from LTD is an independent audit of its user numbers.
At the Jan. 11 PFC hearing, LTD did not provide any sort of data on student usage. On Jan. 24 , however, LTD provided rider numbers from a five-day period in 2005. LTD counted approximately 6,600 student IDs using an electronic system, which translated to an estimated 2,300 individual students when transfers and multiple rides were accounted for.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 6
AnonymousCoward
posted 1/26/07 @ 4:08 PM PST
Where's your fact checker at? I can't believe you guys published this this worthless piece of biased crap.
LTD is NOT an "Independent Business". They're a public transit agency, primarily funded by grants, taxes, and occasionally bond measures. (Continued…)
micah
posted 1/26/07 @ 4:11 PM PST
It doesn't sound like a lot of fact checking went into this article. First of all, LTD is not a business, it's a local government organization that provides a service to the community. (Continued…)
Concerned and broke student
posted 1/27/07 @ 4:05 PM PST
Wow, the LTD liberal union lovers just don't get it. It is doubtful that the prior posters ride the bus. Attack the messenger rather than have true financial accounting. (Continued…)
Daniel Pope
posted 1/27/07 @ 4:20 PM PST
As the previous comments have shown, your editorial starts off in the wrong direction by mistakenly claiming that Lane Transit District is an independent business and is interested in making a profit from its arrangement with U of O. (Continued…)
Anonymous Coward
posted 1/29/07 @ 8:47 AM PST
tl;dr
lol buttes
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