Bus-ted!

From the Miami Herald's Amy Sherman:

"Broward County officials acted arbitrarily and used 'fundamentally flawed logic' when they recommended that the county buy buses that cost at least $16 million more than those offered by a competitor, a hearing officer found in a report released Thursday.
The recommendation that the county award the contract to the low bidder comes as Broward County Transit is struggling with a shortage of working buses and mechanics to fix them.
In fact, BCT is so desperate for buses that starting next month, it will use old Miami-Dade Transit buses that Dade had planned to retire . . . . The buses have about 500,000 miles on them . . . ."

Rapids Response

Hats off--but not niqabs--for Grand Rapids' bus authority. The Interurban Transit Partnership ended a policy that allowed drivers to refuse service to anyone with a covered face after a Muslim woman was told she'd have to unveil herself before she could ride a public bus.

In a city of more than a million people, among whom there always will be "the poor", public transportation is a necessary evil if you're a taxpayer; therefore, if you're a taxpayer, you have a right to ride--or not--and what you wear without harming others should be beside the point. Can we as Americans agree that Grand Rapids is not Jerusalem (or cities throughout Europe), that our public buses are not commercial jets, and to not torch another bridge between ourselves and our ideals until lighting the match is at least a tough choice?


Unfortunately, no ('though some of the knee jerks come with a few worthy one liners about women and Islam). Nevertheless, the buses in Grand Rapids--with all aboard--will roll on. Remember that on the long road ahead . . .