TO THE EDITOR:

I have read articles stating how great the new Heartland Express program is, and how wonderful it will be for the people in the cities that are included in the new routes. But, because Heartland is supported by county and state funds, I have trouble with the exclusion of all the small cities that aren't located along I-35 or close to Center City. Small towns like Almelund, Sunrise, Taylors Falls, Franconia, Lent, Shafer, and Weber don't have any service. Is it fair to use their property taxes to pay for the greater good? I will admit that I have a personal reason to object to the new routes. We live in Sunrise, and for the past four years, the Heartland bus has been picking up my grandson at 6:30 a.m. every morning and taking him to a private school in Chisago City. He was a permanent rider, paying monthly whether or not he rode. This service is being discontinued because they don't have any pickup routes to the country until after 8 a.m. Obviously, he used Heartland because he had no other way to get to school, and he has no other way to get to the Hub.

What about the people in these excluded cities that used the Heartland to get to work? They too are just out of luck. Can we request a property tax credit for the loss of the Heartland services? It seem very strange to me that the quest for more state funds should result in the loss of services previously offered.

M. Murphy
North Branch