At last month's meeting of the Lake County Council, I introduced the food and beverage tax for the purpose of starting a conversation about a needed local source of revenue for bus transit.

I believe it has been helpful, although not all of it has been positive.

Some have told me I will lose votes. That is their choice. For me, my support for bus transportation has always been a matter of social justice.

There are people who depend upon public transit, and we need to find a solution to sustain that service.

But I also believe better bus service will help with economic development. For example, it will get people to jobs as well as medical services and shopping in south county. The food and beverage tax is the best option of the alternatives available to us. All others point primarily to property tax relief. But if this discussion leads to other funding possibilities, then that is a positive step forward.

After all, the Indiana General Assembly is under way in Indianapolis.

Perhaps we will learn of other funding possibilities that might result from this session. Regardless, we will still need a local funding source.

Immediately, we need to deal with the busing crisis. The Northwest Indiana Community Action Corporation has ended bus service. This has impacted more than 4,000 primarily low-income and elderly people in urban and outlying areas. Hammond also wants to get out of the busing business. Not only will the lives of people be affected, but the millions of federal and state dollars we receive for these services will go to other regions that already have a consensus about the importance of transit to their quality of life.

Also, we need to get on with consolidating our fixed route services. The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority has made it clear to the Regional Bus Authority that fixed-route services in our northern communities must operate under a universal service. So it is no longer business as usual.

One of the key ingredients in transit planning is that we need to do a better job of linking bus with rail services. I was pleased by the action taken when the RBA expanded regional routes in partnership with the Gary Public Transportation Corp. When GPTC launched this service, it coordinated schedules with South Shore rail service. That's a positive step.

I would love to see the South Shore expand to Lowell and Valparaiso. Think of the economic impact that expansion would have on our communities! We only have to look to the extensive rail services available in Chicago suburbs and appreciate the huge impact that rail has on economic development.

So it is time to stop bickering and develop a "smart" strategy that builds upon a consensus to expand bus and rail service for our county and region.

Saving busing is not only a matter of social justice. It is also one of the building blocks of a comprehensive and reliable service that links bus and rail together for the good of all residents of Northwest Indiana.