CITYLINK: Time to charge riders

Item: The Rising cost of Citylink's Success. It appears that the Coeur d'Alene Tribe funded and began the Citylink as a means of making it easier for folk to go to the casino. Now they are asking for help. It is possible they did not get the response they expected. After all, folk who do not drive are probably not going to be big players at a casino.

They are asking for more help from the community: cities, county and other civic organizations. While this is possible, I am afraid I will have to side with Post Falls City Administrator Eric Kleck. "Keck said that, while it may be unpopular to advocate, he believes an answer to ensuring Citylink is adequately funded could be to charge a nominal amount for passengers."

I know there is a lot of benefit for those who ride the bus, but what did they do before the bus? We are told that last year Citylink provided a record 556,565 rides. Now, if every rider paid just $1, and those who go to the casino gave $2 it would go a long way toward providing the needed funds.

It makes little sense for those who do not use the service to subsidize it. It obviously makes the most sense for the riders to pay for the service. If a $1 is going to make the difference for some people then maybe a few public-spirited people can help those with the greatest need. Truly that is the American way.

I think I am going to side with Eric Keck.

JIM HOLLINGSWORTH

Coeur d'Alene