Despite having inadequate transit service for a region of its size, the Phoenix Metro Area has no shortage of transit bureaucracy. Currently, at least four agencies are involved in providing transit service: Valley Metro RPTA, Metro Light Rail, the Phoenix Public Transit Department, and Tempe in Motion. While many citizens think that Valley Metro controls all transit, it's really just a brand name for an awkward patchwork of agencies that provide inconsistent levels of service while incurring needless administrative costs.

An important first step occurred recently when Steve Banta was made the head of both Metro Light Rail and Valley Metro RTPA. Let's hope that's the first move toward an eventual merger of the agencies. The 800-lbs. gorilla, however, is Phoenix's own Public Transit Department, an agency that has been seen, rightly or wrongly, as an obstructionist force in regional planning and data transparency. That department should be folded into Valley Metro RPTA. Once that occurs, it should not be difficult to persuade Tempe, with a new mayor and council dedicated to regional cooperation, to bring its own agency on board.

The one legitimate objection I've heard to a merger is that some cities that do not pay their fair share via dedicated transit taxes (e.g. Scottsdale) might get a free ride under a unified regional transit agency. Maybe they would; however, having more bus runs extend into Scottsdale, rather than turning around in Arcadia, would probably benefit Phoenicians who work in Scottsdale more than it would benefit Scottsdale residents. Regardless, some differentiation in service levels could still be made if necessary due to varying levels of transit funding. We'd still benefit from eliminating needless redundancies and inefficiencies in transit management.