Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Emery Go Round? Yes, The Long Way Around.

We Hope We're Not Paying For This.

A reader sends this photo of an Emery-Go-Round bus at lunch at El Cerrito Plaza today.  Perhaps the far flung driver likes the burritos better in El Cerrito, but since some Emeryville residents pick up some of the tab for the bus service, perhaps this is an unauthorized use of the bus.

15 comments:

  1. The Emery-Go-Round website and the signs on the actual busses themselves claims the entire bus service is paid by Emeryville businesses, an untrue statement. Some new condo projects in town have to kick in for the service according to City Hall.

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  2. Pretty much everything we are told has some room for reinterpretation. The redevelopment agency doesn't use general funds is my favorite saying. When are the people in this city going to wake up to the madness of what is happening. This picture of the EGR is merely symbolic of this city.

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  3. Hey, this pig is on my residential property tax. This is a free service provided to mainly non-residents with the exception of the Watergate people who receive free direct nonstop transport to Bart. Let the people who use it pay for it. Also, I constantly see the buses cuting through residential streets. Is this necessary?

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  4. This is exactly the probelm with the proliferation of pseudo news outlets. No respectable media outlet would publish this picture without the story behind it. You have no idea why this vehicle was in El Cerrito. There are numerous legitimate reasons that the vehicle was in El Cerrito. Perhaps is was driven there for service that could not be performed at the yard and the driver stopped for lunch. This is not a news story at this time. It is a photograph which lacks the story behind it.

    Journalistic ethics dictate that you have a story before you publish such things.

    I encourage all readers of this blog to think crirtically before you pass judgement on anything you read or see here.

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  5. The conservatives in town keep trying to discredit the Tattler. You must be getting under their skin Tattler. Keep doing what you do. You're providing a real community service.

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  6. To the 10:12 commenter: I'm am an extrememly liberal member of this community, but that does not mean I get to check my ethics at the door. ?If you preport to be a news outlet you should adhere to a certain mimimum level of journalistic ethics. The type of reporting Brian does here is no better than Fox News (it just happens to be miles apart idealogically) and does a disservice to functional democracy in our community. In order to have a viable civial discource the citizens need to have complete and accurate information. Otherwise we cannot formulate informed opinions with wich to have a discussion. Rash decision making without all the facts has never and will never serve a community well.

    To the 8:48 commenter: I do not believe that any residential homowowners pay for the Emery-Go-Round on their property tax bills. HOAs, as corporations governed by the Davis-Stirling Act, may pay an assesment as commercial property owners. That is what Brian is referring to when he says some conodo buildings pay for the Emery-Go-Round. There are other transportation taxes on your property tax bill (AC Transit, Alameda County) but the Emery-Go-Round should not be one of them.

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  7. Accurate information? Read the post, dude. It says "perhaps an unauthorized use of the bus", not that it IS unauthorized use.

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  8. I have reported many times here that the Tattler is slanted in favor of the residents. We take a pro-resident stance here. With that in mind, facts are presented as facts and a pro-resident take is mixed in. This is obvious to any readers, especially since it says right in the masthead we take a pro-resident perspective.

    For readers not comfortable with this perspective I suggest you read the City Hall 'E-News' or the Chamber of Commerce 'Emeryville Connection'.

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  9. I would like to say that I am shocked by this photo but I'm not. I am an Emeryville resident and use the Emery-go-round service daily to get to and from work. I love the service and MOST of the drivers. Then there are the other drivers who make and receive personal phone calls (while driving and NOT hands free), have unprofessional conversations about riders, leave early from BART just to have a longer break at the end of the route, and are just over all rude. However i take these issues up with the organization who runs emery-go-round. If you have a question about why the bus was were it was, call them up and ask. Posting anonymously on a blog is just random ranting that doesn't let the emery-go-round know that a bus was where it shouldn't have been or let them explain why it was there to begin with (if there is an excuse).

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  10. ...and those who demand real, unbiased news and complete and accurate information are left with because you have chosen not to provide it.

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  11. I love seeing these conservative neocons claiming they're not conservative. Only in the bay area. In the mid west they aren't afraid to admit it at least.

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  12. It's obvious the person claiming the Tatter is biased is not a "neocon". But I disagree that the Tattler is not valuable for the community. The Tattler has been a watchdog on the city hall and that's a very valuable thing. We're not getting that anywhere else. The problem I see with the Tattler is that it's too hyperbolic, too sensational. Tattler, cut down on the sensationalism and you'll be a great little news source for Emeryville residents.

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  13. I think the community understands that the Tattler does not have the resources of the New York Times. I consider the report that a bus was in El Cerrito Plasa reliable and a community service. There might be a reasonable explanation. If one is provided, I'm sure the Tattler will report it.
    Our residential rental property does indeed pay tax for the Emery Go Round. I don't use the service, but I believe it greatly reduces auto traffic. Good. But I'm only willing to pay for the lowest cost, most efficient, well managed service that can be provided. I want to see the city spend tax money with the same care that they take with their own funds.

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  14. The Tattler engaging in hyperbole? That's the most outlandish thing ever said by anybody in the history of humankind!

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  15. I take this shocking affront personally. As a member of the so-called "liberal elite," I am sick and tired of being told that I'm sick and tired!

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