What is the most thankless job in Lincoln?
There are probably many candidates for that title, but surely one of the front-runners is Mike Davis's new position as head of StarTran. Davis recently replaced Larry Worth.
StarTran is under-funded, under-utilized, and under-understood by Lincolnites. It's the butt of jokes and the frequent target of calls for cutbacks. Not that there is much to cut back, mind you. StarTran's routes and schedules aren't exactly world class.
With all that being said, why would Davis -- or anyone -- want to take on such a challenge? I can't speak for Davis, but if it were me I'd say that it's because the challenge is difficult but doable. There are lots of good opportunities for StarTran, and all that local sarcasm and cynicism toward the department isn't as entrenched as it may seem. Given enough time, a guy with some ideas and the skill to pull them off could really do some good.
That's not to say Larry Worth lacked any of those qualities. I didn't care for several of Mr. Worth's approaches to the department, but in general I understood why he made his decisions. What Mike Davis has that Larry Worth didn't is newness and a fresh, outsider's perspective. Those qualities have a limited lifespan of course, and they can be liabilities if wielded incorrectly. For now they're good things. For now.
Perhaps ten years from now Davis will have transformed his position into one that gets a bit more credit. It will be no easy task.
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Lincoln needs to get it’s head out and stop acting like a hamlet. Public transport is the hallmark of most any large and thriving city. With the population and college demographics we have here there should be no reason why Star Tran cannot succeed. The perception that ‘po people’ use Star Tran is insulting-the only reason I do not, despite having several stops in the college view area is time availability. The ‘central hub’ transfer system has got to go. I don’t have time to centrally hub and take an hour to get to work on the other side of 48th and O street.
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