Cost of public transit trips to casinos questioned

Friday, December 11, 2009  

Officials with the North County Transit District in southern California say it costs too much money to take passengers with disabilities to tribal casinos.

Riders in the paratransit program pay $8 for a round-trip ticket to a casino. The cost to the taxpayers' is $200.

“To me, a service like that should have as its first obligation the need to get people where they have to be, where they need to be,” said Carl Hilliard, a member of the transit board, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Tribes in the area say they are wiling to share the cost of the service. Rincon Band Chairman Bo Mazzetti noted that the tribes have already contributed $400,000 to rural transit programs.

Get the Story:
Transit budget cutters question casino trips (The San Diego Union-Tribune 12/11)