C-J on private (vs. highly-subsidized) bus services for Oaks/Derby

From Sheldon Shafer in the C-J...

With a private bus company taking over the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby express shuttle routes this year, track patrons should expect some changes....fewer buses...[some] school buses without air conditioning...cost of a roundtrip will be $5 to $10 more than last year when the public Transit Authority of River City, or TARC, operated the service...

TARC's relinquishing the Oaks and Derby shuttle service is the result of federal transit regulations that took effect last spring. They require public bus companies to let private transit vendors provide most special charter services. Sweazy said Miller Trailways was one of three vendors to bid on providing the Oaks/Derby service....

Owen defended Miller's charging more because "we don't receive tax dollars to supplement our operating costs, as does the transit authority." TARC gets revenue from a dedicated local occupational tax....