Island Transit doesn’t need a tax increase! Island Transit needs a fare increase! There are two types of people who use the transit system the most: One, those who are going to work to earn money; and two, those who are going some place to spend money.

The transit buses are mostly full two times a day (early morning and in the evening) when people are either going to or coming from work. The rest of the time they travel the island roads virtually empty. They are not being utilized to their fullest extent! It takes a staff of professional people to keep those buses on the road and they all get payed by our taxes, not the riders of the buses!

A modest fair for riders to pay for the transportation of a person from one place to another is not too much to ask and it would eliminate a tax increase for those who don’t use that transport system.

Seattle transit and the ferry system charge people who use their systems a modest fare along with being subsidized by the cities the buses serve and by the state gas tax for the ferries that serve the western and eastern ferry systems.

So please vote no on transit on Aug. 18 and let those who ride pay a decent fare for their travels.

Bill Pardy

Oak Harbor