Our Views: A new puzzle at CATS HQ

Edgar Cage has been one of the leaders on transit issues for Together Baton Rouge, the coalition of congregations that took an active role in pushing, and winning, a new tax for operations of the Capital Area Transit System.

CATS’ leaders, both board and staff, ought to listen to Cage today.

The board is divided by politics and cannot muster a majority to extend the contract of Brian Marshall, the president of the bus system, Cage said recently.

“It sends a message of how the board isn’t on the same page about their direction of where CATS should be going and who should be leading,” Cage said. “That’s why everything seems to be in limbo. Stop the politics and start concentrating on delivering service.”

There is an old saying about how some people cannot handle prosperity, and maybe that has something to do with the erratic situation that has never, from our standpoint, been adequately explained.

On the one hand, the bus service is now getting revenues and is poised to flesh out what was “bare bones” services that are needed in the community.

On the other hand, no one seems to know what that plan is, least of all the CATS board. And, the manager since late 2009 is apparently in the market for a new job.

Limbo is not a good place to be.

We are reluctant to say what should be done, because this situation seems so confused that we’re not even sure what options the bus service is weighing going forward. In one recent example of confusion, the financial official of the system said one thing under oath in a tax-related lawsuit and then it was disavowed shortly thereafter as only a draft plan.

But what’s the real plan?

There’s a third hand to this on-the-other-hand situation. There is impatience for better service on the street, but we recognize that ramping up a system that was nearly out of business is difficult. Further, it takes a long time to buy large buses and deploy them.

As Marshall said publicly after the tax was passed, it is only in 2014 that the public will see a full deployment of buses that will make transit more accessible. Yet it doesn’t seem too early to lay out for the public a coherent game plan for making that happen.

Comments

1) Comment by rdj! - 05/03/2013

GPS Update: My phone reads: "Sorry, No buses scheduled at this stop." [Android] I hope CATS kept the receipt! This has been like this for weeks! I'm a 10 year rider! Sorry management, a change is needed, a PROFESSIONAL change!

2) Comment by ScotB - 01/03/2013

I remember the first articles on this subject were about CATS needing $2M to close their budget shortage. Now that are getting $13M more annually and they can't make it work! How can there be any doubt we need new leadership here?

3) Comment by prbeav - 01/03/2013

It seems to me many Baton Rouge buses should be sold and replaced with vans until the use rate justifies buses. And riders should register with CATS so that CATS knows their needs and can schedule accordingly and publish the schedule, letting occasional riders fit in. Also, something should be done to protect the public from the fleecing of the budget for wastes such as the tracking system mentioned earlier. I hope the Advocate continues its frequent reporting of this long-running fiasco.>>>>Fortunately, I have a car, and I do not mind paying a tax for people who do not have a car. However, I want my tax money to be used to transport people who need it. I am waiting to see reports that riders are being served according to their needs. It is passed time for reading about political issues at CATS.

4) Comment by Hello Baton Rouge - 01/03/2013

excellent point, trade... I would like to buy you a beer, sir

5) Comment by tradewinns - 28/02/2013

if we MUST have a bus system, it should run in the time slots when the majority of riders need the service. the buses should not run every 30-45 minutes on every route because someone may need to go somewhere then. riders will/should have to plan their trips when there is service, not vice versa. look at the buses on the road next time you seeone. i have yet to see one close to capacity. in fact most of the buses i see are empty except for the driver.

6) Comment by phil - 28/02/2013

Prior to the tax election for CATS, there were studies made, comparisons made with "peer" cities, a Blue Ribbon Commission was created, a plan was developed, a "report card" was even created etc. Now all of a sudden there seems to be no real plan, and also the people who helped to push the original tax and plan seem to be no longer competent to run CATS, and we are told they need to be replaced with a privatized group. I have some swamp land for sale in Arizona for those who really buy into all of this.

7) Comment by DMJ - 28/02/2013

Extend Marshall's contract. Give him a chance to succeed with proper funding. Our shortsightedness and petty squabbling has pushed enough talent out of Louisiana. Oh, and perhaps the reason for the board "not being on the same page" is that some of the board members are metro council members who were opposed to CATS surviving in the first place. I'm willing to bet that the same commenters who are complaining about the CATS board voted for members of that board during the last metro council elections. Irony is lost on some people. How about we put people on the CATS board who have invested political capital in its success, rather than its failure? Just a thought....

8) Comment by [e-mail] - 28/02/2013

The real plan is to figure the best way to get the CATS tax money into trouser pockets.

9) Comment by Hello Baton Rouge - 28/02/2013

The management team at CATS are clueless. I am now paying an extra couple of hundred (or so) dollars a year when I don't ride the bus because bus riders are too poor to pay an extra dollar or so per fare? That being said, what did the CATS management do? Equipped buses with a million dollar satellite tracking system. This system is so the poor poor bus riders who don't have that extra dollar to pay for the fare, will be able to use their iPhones and Android phones ($400-$600 each with a $100/month data plan) to track the bus that they can barely afford to ride. How about investing that money into some marketing campaigns or something else that makes people want to ride the bus. The same 5 people on the bus everytime I see it are getting sick of riding alone. CLUELESS

10) Comment by tradewinns - 28/02/2013

nimby, why should we consider this tax a permanent feature of our future? we implimented it and we can cancel it. which i would suggest we get on about it quickly. the only thing permanent is change and the taxpayer better pull their indebted heads out of their other end and begin to think!

11) Comment by nimby? - 28/02/2013

sure are quite a few items coming up ... after the election . gonna be a long time til EBR considers a yes vote on any tax ....

12) Comment by Duckyluve - 28/02/2013

How long will this cats fiasco go on? Its becoming a joke

13) Comment by dday198 - 28/02/2013

please,make me want to ride the bus.