The Rapid Wall of Shame


Examples of the poor stewardship of public funds by The Rapid, the bus transit agency in Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Walker, Wyoming, Kentwood, and Grandville, Michigan.

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55
23
The Rapid's head, Peter Varga, walks out of a television interview after being completely unable to answer simple questions about The Rapid's waste of tax money. Click here to see the video...
46
18
The Rapid's buses operate, on average, 89% empty. Click here to read the details...
28
13
The Rapid's director decides to move to the country, nowhere near The Rapid's bus services. Click here to read the details...
30
18
The Rapid has spent $368,000 in public funds on artwork for its headquarters. Click here to read the details...
24
17
Far from being environmentally friendly, The Rapid's buses emit more greenhouse gases than if every single rider of The Rapid's buses were transported in an SUV. Click here to read the details...
23
18
The Rapid lied to the public and said that its half a million dollar hybrid buses would double gas mileage, but it only improved by 0.6 miles per gallon, wasting millions of dollars. Click here to read the details...
18
13
The Rapid's staff desperately wants you to ignore a large part of their tax-funded spending because somehow it's special spending that shouldn't matter. Click here to read the details...
16
12
The Rapid's unelected leadership engages in cronyism and bows to the last minute wishes of a neighborhood association, while ignoring the wishes of voters. Click here to read the details...
16
12
The Rapid gets vindictive when taxpayers ask for details on how our money is spent. Click here to read the details...
15
11
The Rapid posted - then removed - a study critical of The Rapid. Click here to read the details...
15
12
The Rapid spent $250,000 of tax money on a piece of art for its headquarters. Click here to read the details...
15
14
The Rapid has the worst openness and transparency record of any major government entity in Kent County. Click here to read the details...
14
15
The Rapid spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a "study" to compare it to other transit agencies. The study's rosy conclusions are based on false data. Click here to read the details...