Pol says blame bus bumbling for rider drop

“He was just a wonderful man,” Carmody said.

Merklein served on a range of boards, including the school board and the Volunteer Services Bureau. He was also a Boy Scout leader.

As a member of the school board, he was an idea man, former board member Robert King told the Shreveport Times.

King described Merklein as a “great compromiser” during the divisive discussions and litigation over integration.

Merklein championed a school breakfast program and got it through the board when he called a vote when the opposition was not present, he told the Times. “I just slipped it in,” he said. Merklein raised five children and retired and moved to Chapel Hill, N.C. There, he worked with the needy at a veteran’s hospital, Carmody said.

In the Shreveport Times profile, Merklein talked about his life’s philosophy.

“I trust people,” he said. “If you don’t trust, then people won’t trust you and you’ll not get anywhere.” A TOP MTA official claimed bus ridership has plunged because subway service is getting better — a statement greeted with disbelief from City Council members.

“One of the major reasons, we believe, is competition. Essentially, the subway has improved over the last 20 or so years,” said Chief Financial Officer Michael Chubak, when asked about the yearslong decline in bus ridership.

There were 764 million bus trips last year, down from 776 million in 2015.

Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, chairman of the Transportation Committee, said the reason is lousy bus service, not improvements on the subway.

“We get to the destination faster if we walk than if we take the bus,” he said. “Our buses are going slow.” A COP PLEADED guilty to misdemeanor assault Tuesday for pummeling a Bronx woman hours after he was honored by the NYPD — but he’ll avoid jail because the victim told prosecutors that rehab is what he really needs.

Eugene Donnelly will be sentenced June 1 to three years’ probation and must get treatment for his drinking problem, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office. Donnelly, who is on modified duty, could also lose his job if he is convicted of the department charges filed against him.

In June 2014, Donnelly was honored with the Police Combat Cross for arresting a teen gunman. After the ceremony, he drunkenly invaded the stranger’s apartment wearing just his underwear and attacked her.