farragut needs to pony up

See? Riding the bus is fun!

But that's not what we're here to talk about. KAT (Knoxville Area Transit) is on the ropes. Ironically, as ridership increases, the budget crunch is forcing them to consider scaling back their operations. One popular route, the Farragut Express, may be on the chopping block.

Why? Because it goes out of the city (Knoxville proper) and therefore isn't subsidized by the city government. Let's face it- fares only cover a fraction of the cost of mass transit. The government (meaning our taxes) ponies up the rest. Or at least most governments do. Some just get a free ride. Other long distance express routes are helped by the receiving end. ORNL helps subsidize the Oak Ridge Express. Why can't moneybags Farragut help with their route?

It's bad enough that the whole idea of Farragut is based on an unsustainable suburban model (which will go the way of the dodo in the next few decades, I think) and that they don't offer any mass transit. The bit of transit they do have is the Express. Many Farraguttans are trying to do the right thing and ride the bus to work. Granted, not living in far-flung suburbs would be better, but we'll take what we can get. The Farragut Express is a service for Farragut. Our little rich neighbor to the west should help pay for it.