Johnny Cash is only one of more than 50 different artists to record versions of the classic tune "Ghost Riders in the Sky", which was actually written by Stan Jones clear back in 1948, and recorded by Gene Autry and several others the following year. Cash's vesion didn't come along till 30 years later, in 1979. But lets not let pesky facts get in the way of a cutesy lead-in, shall we?

People who steal from the government should be regarded as criminals and punished accordingly.

If these van buses are getting vouchers then why are the riders charged another $200 a month each? Who is getting these vouchers, the UTA or the ones leasing the busses from UTA? Either way, it looks like some fraud has been going on and criminal charges should apply. What about other government installations like Toole, Lake Point, National Guard, etc.? Do they also use these van pool subsidy programs? I don't think the riders are even aware of these subsidies and are getting defrauded and paying twice for this service. Maybe the GAO needs to do a national investigation on public transportation service subsidies. If Hill AFB caught it then we have to assume it's a national epidemic of fraud.

This is the kind of thing that happens when we entrust the government with our tax dollars. To many government employees (especially congress), it isn't "real money", it is like play money that you spend on things you would never even think of spending your own money on.

I once worked for a government agency while in college and I was astounded by the waste and mismanagement of government funds that went on regularly in that agency.

So by all means, lets give the government more of our money to manage our health care. I'm sure they will put every dollar to the best possible use.

Just because it was at Hill doesn't meanits nationwide. The driver picking up vouchers for all the riders? I find that hard to believe unless there was collusion.

Typical government solution. Hire a person to oversee the system. So we're still spending the money, just in salary instead of bus passes.
This is exactly why I believe the LAST thing we should ever do is increase taxes.
Once a government employee gets a job, it seems the rest of their careers are devoted to doing as little work as possible, and still managing to get paid. Thus, government gets more bloated and unproductive every day.
My vote? Just get rid of the program entirely, and let the employees figure out how to get work like the rest of the world. This perk is pure pork.

Did the investigation suggest any malfeasance by UTA or other providers? Surely that's a relevant part of this story.

This comment about musical artist is “off topic” and should be removed from this Forum.

I have been disgusted by free transportation for gov't employees who 'choose' to live miles away from place of employment - why should taxpayers have to subsidize their choice? Let them pay for their own gas to get to work like the majority of other taxpayers. Also, the UTA vanpool has an allowance of 250 personal miles per month to run errands, go grocery shopping, take the kids to the mall, swimming pool, etc. I found this out when I saw a woman and family get out of a UTA van and go grocery shopping.

Sometimes these vans only have 1 or 2 people riding in them. It seem like a good system when they started it but people have taken advantage of it and it should be discontinued.

Let's not forget everytime you see a UTA Van with 2-3 people in it does not mean it actually carried 8-10 people. The UTA van I drive I pick everyone up in the morning and drop them off all at their residence. The closer I get home the less passenger I have and I am the last. I lose a hour each way everyday with the van rolling out of my driveway just before 0500 every work day. The amount of $$ saved for all 9 of us (my group) is a significant savings to us, the GOV, air pollution, and less traffic. As the primary driver, I clean and vacuum the van regularly, gas it, take it for it's schedule maint, complete the monthly paperwork and all on my time. I will use the little "personal miles" to go to the store etc. If one vehicle is going to the same place all individuals should look towards car pooling or van pooling assuming schedules allow. The problem is that most all people like their own flexibility and conveniences. The program is smart and saves overall for all.

The Government did not overpay but UTA overcharged all while making the van pool more strigent due to (supposedly) the rise in Gas prices. Where is UTA sticking all that money??? Are jobs being created at UTA?

Stealing? It's just another government hand-out. Viva the welfare state! Viva overtaxation! It gives me purpose in life -- I know who I am working for. The government is, as Bette Midler sang, "the wind beneath my wings."

The comment on Johnny Cash was off topic? So was the opening paragraph for this news story. LAME! For the life of me, I can't understand why editors allow their writers to open news stories with stupid lead-ins such as this one. Not only are they completely irrelevant & superfluous, they confuse the readers, they are down-right silly, stupid & annoying and add nothing whatsoever to the story.

The UTA Vanpool is a great program and a cost savings to all not to mention less traffic and parking. Those who complain are usually the ones who complain about everything. Can you imagine if Hill AFB would make a 4-day work week like the State is possibly implementing? They would complain that they work too long during the day everyday but would not complain about having each Friday off. Hill and UTA are doing right by principle and should press on with the program.

I love the irony in Ultra Bob's comments. When it's the people "stealing" from the government it is a crime, but when it is the government stealing from the people it's called compassion, love, looking out for our fellow man, peace, the right thing to do and lastly; Change....

Gotta love them libs....

I know of one van that comes from SLC with the driver and a contractor. He doesn't drop anybody off
because its only the 2 of them in the van. I have talk with the contractor about how many people they have in the van and she said there should be a minimum of 6 people but they were the only two that rode in it. A waste of tax papers money that is all it is.

Note: Just because individuals see UTA van with only a couple of people in it does not mean it originally was full. In most cases the van is in the process of dropping passengers off or picking them up. When the van rolls up to the Hill AFB entrance that is when it should be viewed. In addition, many vans have all the required registered passengers only to find out the last minute a person is calling in sick, taking leave etc. This should not jeapordize the other passengers riding to work because it "appears" different.

I think it is a great program if it is done right. I like the Idea of someone taking over and making sure it runs correctly. There are alot af people that take advantage of the program and that is wrong. When they let only the driver go sign up for voughers it caused alot of problems. I believe that is when people started adding ghost riders. I like the program it saves on traffic on base and it should continue if people will stick to the rules they provide for us.

I was the original Johnny Cash commenter, and you accurately summed up exactly what was wrong with the lead-in to the story in the first place. Not only did the writer not have his facts straight regarding the author of the tune he so clumsily tried to work into the article's opening paragraph, the result was, as you said, unnecessary, confusing, and lame. After yesterday's "Chaffetz doesn't live in his district" non-story, Mr. Davidson really appears to be on a roll here...

At the time the audit check of the vehicles by security police was done, it was the peak of the annual vacation schedule, so many usual van riders were absent. By coincidence, I had two riders performing TDY elsewhere, one was sick, and one was in the final stages of processing for retirement. The security police would not state the reason for their checks of the UTA vehicles, so I was not cooperative about answering any of their questions.
Generally, the vanpools are excellent for reducing traffic on the roadways, air pollution from unneccesary vehicles, and the problem of insufficient parking at Hill AFB. There were some who abused the program, I suspect. As a result of the audit, drivers now get only 50 gratus miles a month for their efforts, and it was only 200 previously, not 250. UTA has instituted overly intrusive credit and background checks for drivers and bookkeepers, and more stringent rules. As a result, I am no longer willing to take my time and effort to drive the van, so who knows if it will be operational next month? We might just add nine more cars to your congested commute. Enjoy!

Its integrity...Some people don't have it..You should have it to be a van capatain.

Bob G and Fredd,
HAFB is the tip of the iceburg. GAO estimated $17M of annual fraud with this program in only 7 agencies in DC area. See GAO audit report GAO-07-0724T and DoD Inspector General's report 08-025 (both readily available online). The concept which originated with Executive Order 13150 is a good one. But I fear mismanagement, ineffective policies, lack of oversight, etc. which ostensibly allowed the fraud to occur may jeopardize the program for all.

Actually, the artist who made the song a hit was Vaughn Monroe in the 50's. Is this another example of how UTA inflates ridership numbers to get more government money?

There have been two scandals of miscounting/misreporting ridership at UTA. There was the TRAX overcounts of up to 18,000 a day, leading up to the multibillion dollar transit tax-election in Nov. 2006. UTA fooled us un-fair and un-square.
Then there was the bus under-reporting of passenger miles traveled of almost 90 million in 2004. At this time this was crucial as the decision was being made to replace very full and effective express buses with very expensive commuter rail.

The vanpool program had seemed a very good program. Now we find UTA management has taken the opportunity to assume every van is always nearly full. The story here is that an outside audit, again, has shown UTA cooking the books and pocketing the cash to build their empire.

The fault here is the same one that caused the other counting screwups. UTA's big bonuses for managers that reward them with thousands in bonuses to make their departments look very productive or that induce the government/public to funnel more money to UTA.
Yup! Those are two of the three criteria for getting bonuses at UTA and it is a disease that UTA management spreads to grow the empire!

Another UTA Scandal!
This is not unique to UTA. Sure, UTA may have benefited from the windfall. But I contend the real cause of this debacle is the fraudulent activity of HAFB employees and contractors, who received unauthorized, tax-free benefits. Clearly, oversight was lacking. I familiar with the "Transportation Incentive Program", having researched it extensively. See my July 7 9:37 post and read the GAO and DoDIG reports.