Greg Kraut's Westport RTM Letter to Connecticut General Assembly - 'No Rail Increases and No Service Reduction'

WESTPORT, Conn., Feb. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is a Westport, Connecticut Representative Town Meeting letter addressing the CT General Assembly Transportation Committee presented by Greg Kraut.

Dear Connecticut General Assembly Transportation Committee,

I call for all rail increases to be immediately halted by the legislature. The rail fares have gone up 23 percent and now the Governor wants to raise them another 21 percent. At the same time, commuters will get reduced service. This only happens when we have a monopoly and the decision making is controlled by one person, the Governor. We live in a democracy, not a dictatorship. Even the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation James Redeker at the Connecticut Department of Transportation public forum on February 28th, at the University of Connecticut-Stamford publicly stated, “This is not my plan, so don’t blame me.” This is unacceptable and will just be another factor to cause people and business to leave our state. I have had hundreds of constituents email and call me expressing their concern regarding this matter. The fare is already high, and this may be the tipping point for riders. Without a long-term vision or strategy, this seems misguided and an anti-growth policy which is the opposite strategy that we need now. It is now abundantly clear that we need to have all rail increases approved by the legislature.

Please help!

Greg Kraut
Westport RTM
Kraut for Connecticut!
203-557-0995
www.gregkraut.com