The Western Front regrets printing this letter's original headline, which was misleading.

 An article titled "Bus Pass Price Preserved for Next Three Years" ran in the June 26 edition of The Western Front. It contained three quotes attributed to WTA Spokesperson Maureen McCarthy that were both inauthentic (meaning they were not derived from an interview) and untrue. Though I did speak briefly with the writer of the article, we did not discuss any of the topics addressed in the following statements.

The first false statement was: “This will help to ensure that WTA is not forced to lay off any workers, a situation the agency wants to avoid at all costs, WTA spokesperson Maureen McCarthy said.”  In fact there is no link between WWU’s student transportation fee and the possibility of layoffs at WTA.  While raising fares for all riders (the general public and WWU students) will help somewhat to offset the agency’s major revenue shortfall, the student transportation fee and the potential for staff layoffs are otherwise unrelated.

The second false statement was: “The majority of WTA’s funding comes from Western, so ending the contract and eliminating the student passes is not an option, McCarthy said.”  In fact only a small fraction of WTA’s funding comes from WWU.  98 percent of WTA’s operating budget comes from a local sales tax—paid by everyone who purchases goods in Whatcom County.  Furthermore, though we are very pleased to have now reached an agreement on the Viking Express Pass, the possibility of ending the contract and eliminating the pass was indeed a possible outcome of the negotiations.

The third false statement was: “Because individual student fees are not going to be raised, WTA wants to raise the amount it receives from Western for the 2009-10 school year, which means a larger percentage from each student’s transportation fee will be paid to the WTA, McCarthy said.”  In fact at the time the article was written, WWU and WTA had declined to comment on how they would increase the amount paid to WTA without increasing the 25 dollar student transportation fee.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the June 26 article.  I appreciate the working relationship we have with The Western Front and its reporters, and the fair and accurate coverage WTA has generally received throughout the years.

Maureen McCarthy is the Community Outreach and Marketing Manager for the Whatcom Transit Authority.

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