Poor Old Red Rabbit is Dead

They shot poor old Red Rabbit the other day. They didn't kill the bus line, just the name. Taxpayer money began flowing into the Red Ink Red Rabbit 13 years ago when the federal government decided to fund mass transit for inner cities. Gainesville hopped all over that one (pun intended). Here was free money from Washington, and having 10-15 people riding one bus would cut down car traffic, reduce pollution and provide a service. It sounded great. The buses might have been funded, but operating the Red Rabbit took cash from city taxpayers. When people did not hop, skip and jump aboard Red Rabbit, they hired consultants and did a study. Still didn't work. The first fleet of buses wore out, and they got another. More studies. The problem was more than 90% of the bus trips had less than two passengers. As mass transit, Red Rabbit was a failure. Now Washington has come up with $750,000 for a new fleet of buses. Obviously the feds have a lot of extra cash to throw around nowadays. Apparently the city figured the name Red Rabbit is the problem, so the new fleet will be called the "connection" and there are plans for a study. And about this "free" money from Washington