From Jack Moran, Century:
To the Pensacola City Council,
This move (to give ECAT to Pensacola) by the county would be the kiss of death for the ECAT bus route (once a day service) to Century. This could cost a number of people to lose their jobs – people who can ill afford to lose them. I remember when the bus route to Century was set up by the EscaRosa Regional Workforce Development Board; ostensibly, to be able to disqualify a few hundred people from collecting welfare by providing a way they could get job training or be able to travel to work. I doubt the City of Pensacola will feel compelled to maintain an “area transportation system”, but discontinuing ECAT as an area transportation system might raise serious legal issues.
The Escambia County Area Transportation (ECAT) system is seriously misnamed – one bus serving the “area”, does not constitute an “Area Transportation System”. ECAT does not even serve all of Escambia County! What about Beulah, Walnut Hill, Davisville, Bratt, Byrneville, Molino, Cantonment, Perdido, etc. What is the BCC thinking? Especially Kevin White!
This “hand-off” is not right. Interview the bus riders at Century when they get on and off the bus. Also, the bus is the only way that probation and parolees can get to Pensacola to check-in; but then who would care about mostly minority, ex-cons trying to turn their lives around? Certainly not the BCC.
George Touart told Century they could have either a library or a police station; without a police station we have no hope of improving our local law enforcement; without a library we have no hope of evolving out of ignorance and decadence. Why do we have to choose? Why now do our citizens have to choose between a library, and the ability to get to work or meet our responsibilities? It took Century 19 years (after Pensacola) to get a Head Start program. It has taken nearly 30 years for Century to get a Day Care. Now that we have our ONE BUS, we won’t give it up lightly. We made a mistake by letting George Touart coerce us into giving up our police station; we won’t make another so easily.
ECAT is NOT a municipal bus system; it is an AREA system, a county system. Pensacola would be better to start their own system rather than try to cut-up and eat this white-elephant with all of its attendant miseries.