Transit needs overhaul

Here is a classic example of tax dollars at work: Long Beach Transit is spending money on commercials that have nothing to do with the service the provide.

These television spots air locally on cable channels. Long Beach Transit commercials feature an employee, such as a dispatcher, bus-washer or customer information agent, describing his or her role in keeping the bus system running.

These commercials bring to life the transit agency occupations featured on billboards and bus benches.

These ads cannot possibly turn viewers into riders.

Advertising, especially on television, is expensive. With that sort of expense account, one would think Long Beach Transit would have the sense to sell riders on what services are available. The transit agency provides frequent service on major arteries, runs the Passport shuttle buses throughout downtown, operates a special excursion trip to the Getty Center and sells a $5 day pass good for unlimited rides. Flashing potential customers an information phone number at the end of a commercial showcasing these features would yield hundreds of inquiries.

An informative ad would have been money well spent. But I fail to see how watching a dispatcher or customer information operator in action helps the transit agency or riders in any way.

Under a trade-off scenario, there are so many other ways the money could have been spent on something that benefits both Long Beach Transit and the riders.

The Passport buses are a good example. Most drivers I have spoken with dislike the red Orion buses. They complain about the buses' lack of power, poor handling, uncomfortable ride and mechanical unreliability. A couple of these Orion buses have caught fire. Instead of spending money on these pointless ads, Long Beach Transit could have saved the money and purchased a new fleet of reliable minibuses.

The money could have also been used to expand service, to buy shelters for stops or to provide major repairs for buses.

Instead of providing better service for customers, the money went into ads that help no one. Most existing riders use the bus because they have no alternative transportation available, so they do not need an introduction to Long Beach Transit. Potential riders probably see these commercials and are unsure of what to do. So they do nothing.

Then again, there could also be a segment of Long Beach that would see these ads and be outraged at the waste of money. Long Beach residents sent the city a message to cut waste on Nov. 7 when they approved Measure J, which cuts the utility tax by half over five years. While Long Beach Transit is not a city department and would not be subject to budget cuts, it might look at the election outcome and exercise fiscal responsibility.

I know the agency's dispatchers, customer information agents and other employees work hard. However, highlighting their careers through commercials has no useful purpose. Long Beach Transit should pull the plug on the commercials.

Chris Ledermuller is a print journalism major and Daily Forty-Niner staff writer.