Tim Collins This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Green Bay Press-Gazette - Transit struggles with soaring paratransit use

   www.greenbaypressgazette.com/n - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/13/2002   Last Visited: 2/13/2002

   In most cases, the changes aren't going to make a difference to riders, said Transit Director Tim Collins.
   
   ...
   The Finance Committee didn't take any action on the item but Collins could ask the Transit Commission to push back the April 1 start date to work with the City Council to explore other options. The commission is scheduled to meet Feb. 20.
   
   ...
   Collins gave committee members a nine-page handout that included a breakdown of the department's revenue sources and illustrated the program's growth since 1994. The number of paratransit trips increased from 18,284 in 1994 to a projected 111,258 in 2002.
   
   Collins said the Transit Department is hoping the changes will help curb that growth. In 2002, paratransit costs represent more than 20 percent of the department's $6.85 million budget.
   
   "We're all being strangled to death by paratransit," he said.
   
   ...
   "The problem is that funding did not increase from those sectors when ADA went into existence," Collins said, referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act. "I don't think anyone expected that ADA was going to be as expensive as it has been.
   
   "We think there should be separate dedicated funding for paratransit."
   
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2. 2. The Green Bay News-Chronicle Online - local news

   www.greenbaynewschron.com/page - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/14/2002   Last Visited: 2/14/2002

   "We're going to take you to the same place we always take you, and get you as close to the door as we possibly can," said city transit director Tim Collins. "The only difference is the driver won't be pushing them into the building."
   
   Based on the Transit Department's numbers, paratransit trips have increased by 608 percent since 1994, from about 18,000 trips annually to a projected 111,000 this year.
   
   "We hope to flatten out that increase, or slow it at least," Collins said.
   
   A regular bus service trip costs the city $2.83. Each paratransit trip costs $15.10. Right now, the fare for a paratransit trip is $2 (double a regular bus fare), the most that is allowable by law. The rider is also allowed to have a personal care attendant ride for free.
   
   Costs have skyrocketed for paratransit, Collins said, and this problem is happening everywhere. He said many cities are cutting their regular routes to save money for the paratransit system, which is an unfunded federal mandate.
   
   ...
   Collins called the lifts "notoriously unreliable." He added that people have called and complained about the lateness of the buses when a rider needs to use the lift.
   
   Johnson asked Collins to take their suggestions and questions back to the Transit Commission for more discussion.

3. 3. The Green Bay News-Chronicle Online - local news

   www.gogreenbay.com/page.html?d - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/9/2002   Last Visited: 4/9/2002

   I'm told the night my story about Tom and the service changes appeared, Tim Collins, the city transit director, referred to the story while a City Council committee was giving him heat about the new policy.