From the Anti-Planner (a nationally recognized land use and transportation expert):
Commuter rail was flat, overall gaining just 20,000 riders for the entire year, which considering the total is 490 million is a 0.00 percent increase. Some of the biggest losers were Portland, Maine (-14%), Albuquerque (-12%), and Portland, Oregon (-8%).
Maine, Maine – whatEVAH could Randall O’Toole be talking about. Oh yeah, that train whose tickets already get a 50% taxpayer subsidy – the Downeaster. So IF you were a private investor looking to invest in passenger rail, and the one line that is already running in the State has had its ridership drop 14%, would you be all that hep in throwing your personal money at a SECOND line? One that has already been judged to not be able to be “sustainable” (i.e., self-sustaining without a subsidy)?
No, of course not. But it does seem that the Political Class is raring to go in spending a whole bunch of your money to make their hearts go clickety-clack, clickety-clack and fall into a swoon at the sight of 19th century technology running on its schedule (and not necessarily yours) for a small handful of privileged riders.
Question: wouldn’t investing in autonomous cars be a WHOLE lot more effective? Certainly capacity can ramp up and down fast, much lower capital and recurring costs, and no eminent domain needed to take land for those tracks and stations…
