To small crowd, council hopeful back bus service

Charlottesville City Council candidate Paul Long had a bullhorn with him for his Saturday afternoon rally on transit policy, but it really wasn’t needed.
The event at the Charlottesville Downtown Transit Station drew only a handful of listeners, though Long had handed out hundreds of fliers as he rode the bus in recent weeks.

Still, Long said he wasn’t discouraged.
Long, who doesn’t own a car, held his rally to promote the idea of offering full service bus routes on Sundays and holidays.
Currently, Sunday service is limited to the free trolley, which runs in the downtown from 10th Street to Scott Stadium, and limited service on Route 7, which runs through downtown and along U.S. 29.
“People who work who don’t have cars need extra transit,” he said.

Long is hoping his bid for City Council as an independent will bring attention to the issue.
He said adding buses on Sundays and holidays would increase business downtown and help save the environment, along with giving residents another transportation option.
“Anything that would increase service could be helpful, because it’s my main means of getting around town,” said Bill Maupin, a Charlottesville resident who stopped to watch Long.
Long was collecting signatures on a petition calling for the increase in bus service, and managed to secure 16 during his one-hour event.
He proposes to fund the expansion three ways: a sales tax hike, a wage tax for workers within the city and a voluntary contribution from the University of Virginia.
He acknowledges that the tax hikes would require permission from the General Assembly, and that UVa is not required to give the city money, but thinks he could get it done.
“Even though they’re not legally obligated to help contribute to the city’s finances, … I believe they have a moral obligation to do so,” Long said of UVa.
Long’s competition was divided on his idea.
Democratic incumbent Mayor Dave Norris was generally positive about the proposal.
“I think it’s commendable that he’s bringing forward constructive ideas for improving our transit system,” Norris said.

Funding would be the tricky part, he said. He noted that existing Sunday service is a relatively new, and that an effort to get the General Assembly to allow a referendum on an increase in sales tax for transit issues recently failed.
Bob Fenwick, an independent challenger, thought full service on Sundays and holidays would be wasted and that the city should focus on building weekday readership.
“[City council members] don’t do anything to promote it,” he said. “Occasionally they might give it lip service.”
Fenwick said city policies, including the construction of Meadowcreek Parkway, are “diametrically opposed” to filling buses.
Kristin Szakos, a Democratic challenger, said that she supports expanding public transit and has proposed changes and expansions to the system herself.
“I’m all for making our public transportation system as user-friendly as possible,” she said.

Long’s next campaign event will be sometime in October, in front of City Hall.
Long will advocate the decriminalization of drugs in Virginia, which he sees as a public health issue, he said.
Decriminalization would allow the government to shift funds from enforcement and detention to providing treatment for addicts, he said.