Topline: It’s not uncommon for the Federal Transit Administration to invest in buses. However, the buses are usually running on the ground, not dangling 28 feet in the air.
In 2010, visitors to the new Regional Transit Center in Reno, Nevada were greeted by a 40-foot-long bus stuck on a pole above the main entrance at a 45-degree angle. The art installation was made possible by a $224,000 grant from the federal government.
That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and taxpayer abuses.
Coburn, the legendary U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, earned the nickname "Dr. No" by stopping thousands of pork-barrel projects using the Senate rules. Projects that he couldn't stop, Coburn included in his oversight reports.
Coburn's Wastebook 2010 included 100 examples of outrageous spending worth more than $11.5 billion, including the cash spent on Reno’s levitating bus — which would be worth $326,000 today.
Key facts: Artist Donald Lipski “sliced and reassembled” a vintage bus into a “tapered,” misshapen design to complete his sculpture, called “Jackson.” It weighs 6.5 tons.
The bus had been in use in Newark, New Jersey during the 1960s.
A City of Reno ordinance required that the new transit center contain a “public art element.” And the Federal Transit Administration encourages grantees to incorporate art into public works projects, according to guidance released at the time.
The bricks on the ground beneath the bus were engraved with the names of private donors who helped pay for the sculpture. Their generosity, though, only accounted for 5% of the cost.
The full transit hub cost Reno $13 million to build.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Summary: Someone needs to remind transit officials that buses need to be on the ground to actually be useful.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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