WHY DID TRIMET STOP GIVING OUT SAFETY LIGHTS?

In the fifteen years I was employed by Trimet the single most popular thing they did for riders was giving away the blinking lights. They were WILDLY popular and WIDELY used. When a driver saw the blinking blue light they new that was a bus passenger.  But they did away with it. In the big picture the lights were of completely insignificant costs, but of course Trimet is ruled by executives who have long forgotten what the experience of riders are. And the top executive has never been exposed to the 'real' rider. He is a career technocrat, somebody that lives that parallel world of the 1%'s although he is not technically a  1 percent-er.  He is a tool of the 1%, So the blinker lights were eliminated. At retail level they cost $1 each, in bulk I would imagine you could buy them at 25 cents each. Chump change to a place like Trimet. But alas they got rid of one of the most popular programs ever from Trimet, here is the 'official' explanation:

A: Only during our on-street outreach blitz Monday, November 5.
This year’s Be Seen, Be Safe campaign includes: Face-to-face outreach--with giveaways, including a limited supply of blinkies--at 20 locations the day after Daylight Saving Time ends; emails, web pages and social media posts prompting the public to make themselves visible at bus stops and on foot; TV and newspaper ads, including an insert in hundreds of thousands of newspapers during the last week of Daylight Saving Time; the Bright Ideas contest.
Although blinkies are popular and fun, it’s not financially and environmentally sustainable to hand them out throughout the season. Instead, we’re focusing on educating people about using their phones, clothes and accessories to make themselves visible. (completely absurd)