Having had a full day to digest the City Council’s dismissal of his recommendation to break precedent and charge blind passengers, Transportation Director Art Ida said this morning he “respected” the upset vote. Accepted it without complaint – or being tempted to do handsprings.
A fait accompli seemed to be the easy-going Mr. Ida’s response.
“Working with them, I respect their decision,” he said. “Whatever comes about…
“I can’t speculate about what will happen” regarding a potential lawsuit by the Palmdale man whose complaint of alleged statute violations was rejected by the City Council.
Mr. Ida was asked flatly if he was disappointed.
“No,” he said. “We have a really good City Council.
“They understand our community. They understand our riders. And they have made their decision. We will just work through the decision.
“I totally respect all of them.
“Part of my job is to make sure I execute their decisions,” Mr. Ida said.
For revenue reasons, he must step sensitively and meticulously.
Eighty percent of Transportation’s funding streams from government grants, between $17 million and $18 million.
Since a lawsuit may lie in City Hall’s future, the Transportation Director declined comment on the announced scheme of the disabled man who brought the lone complaint against the department’s no-pay policy for the blind. The activist has threatened to test the Council’s verdict by foregoing his 35-cent fee and trying to ride a bus without paying.
“Because he has threatened a suit,” said Mr. Ida, “I just can’t comment. We will have to see how things shake out.”
Mr. Ida has not set a timeline for studying a revision of fares.
