Price tag of transit is soaring

Charlotte Observer ^ | July 21, 2002 | Dianne Whiacre

[southernnorthcarolina]

Wow. What a surprise. The cost of our combination rail and busway transit system is skyrocketing before it gets started. I am shocked. Shocked, I say.

And you ain't seen nothing yet. A substantial portion of the upward revision in the budget is attributed to the bus component of the plan. Just wait until the rail revisions start coming in.

Prediction: the increased projected costs in the commuter lines planned for bus service (busways, exclusive bus lanes, etc.) will be used as justification to convert all lines to rail, thus, of course, increasing the costs even more. The camel's nose is under the tent. We've got a rail line approved, we thought we had it funded (guess not, now); we can't stop at one rail line, can we? Why certainly not. What we need are more and more rail lines. And what we mostly need is for the surrounding counties to share the pain by adding a transit tax.

Charlotte needs a rail system like a boar needs teats. Time to stop the madness!

[backhoe]

Light Rail- Boon or Boondoggle? The Quest for the Holy Rail....

[dr_who]

Sad. Sounds like they're trying to become another Atlanta. I saw downtown Atlanta a few months ago. Yuck. A lot like deepest, darkest Washington DC.

[pepsionice]

Most economic news I am hearing from Charlotte is that it has hit its peaked and begun losing business interest. The 'big' international airport has not grown in terms of use and housing construction has leveled off in the past two years. The area is not suffering...but its not running toward 'Atlanta' status either. They should take the light rail idea and trim it by 50 percent and agree to meet in five years to possibly add onto the current system. I think they will find a major system on their hands with few if any riders....and that means no $ for operations.

[Free the USA]

Index Bump

[FreedomPoster]

Downtown Atlanta can be ugly, but not that ugly. We have concealed carry.

[ItsBacon]

ALL YOUR RAIL ARE BELONG TO US

[southernnorthcarolina]

They should take the light rail idea and trim it by 50 percent and agree to meet in five years to possibly add onto the current system.

I respectfully disagree. Excepting only the silly trolly line which runs all of two miles between the edge of downtown and Dilworth, to allow convention goers to get from the convention Center to bars and restaurants, and which is separate from the commuter scheme, the first mile of commuter rail track has yet to be laid; no passenger trains have been contracted for; very little right-of-way has been purchased; and the United Brotherhood of Railway Workers and Featherbedders hasn't been dealt with yet.

The time to drive a stake though thr heart of this boondoggle is now, before it gets started. You know how incrementalism works. Once we get our first commuter rail line operational, no matter how short, it will be perceived that the only thing it needs to have for economic success is more and longer lines, at, needless to say, escalating prices.

No, thanks. It needs to be stopped now.

[umgud]

I am not familiar with rail and other transit systems nationwide. Some I've seen in the west, such as the trolleys in San Francisco, seem to be beneficial. Most systems here in CA, however, seem to me to be predominantly subsidized transportation for the poor. I live in an area of a few hundred thousand and I can't think of anybody who owns a car and takes the bus instead.

[palmer]

Have you thought about a monorail?

[Dark Watch]

Get out.....get out of the area now! Do not look back!

[Faraday]

James says he is concerned that CATS will not have enough money to operate, especially if ridership lags. "It is not unexpected that the cost is exorbitantly high, but that will pale in comparison to the cost of running it," he said....Fares will pay 26 percent of costs.

This is a succinct description of light rail. It is the local politician's method for growing government and their power. Sad to read that the voters were hoodwinked into voting this funding.

[Faraday]

In Milwaukee, we have calculated (using realistic ridership estimates) that it would be cheaper to buy cars for the relative handful that would actually use the light rail system, than to build and operate it.

[Constitution Day]

Great post.

FYI, Raleigh's recently-elected Sociocrat Mayor, Charles Meeker, is a MAJOR cheerleader for the "light rail" initiatives proposed for the Triangle.
If memory serves me, he once worked for one of the firms who would benefit most from the projects associated with its construction.

Meanwhile, he is against allowing the completion of the Outer Loop of the Raleigh Beltline.
This project has been on the drawing boards for many years now.

Maybe some Raleigh area FReepers can elaborate on this.

[Overtaxed]

Maybe some Raleigh area FReepers can elaborate on this.

Well I could, but I was raised better than to use such language in polite company. :)

Hwy. 64 East bump!

[billbears]

The projected cost of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's rapid-transit system has ballooned to $2.1 billion -- 2 1/2 times the 1998 estimate

Don't know about you two, but I want MORE internal improvements sponsored by the government, whether it be the state or the general government. I LIKE them!! Sure I don't mind paying more and more in taxes to a never ending hole for funds that never get anywhere.

This will never work and the state of NC and the city of Charlotte will be further in the whole than when we began

[Constitution Day]

Heh heh...

Meeker is one reason I'm glad Raleigh's an hour away.

[Constitution Day]

Sure I don't mind paying more and more in taxes to a never ending hole for funds that never get anywhere.

You need to contribute to the "TAX ME MORE" fund, you good little socialist! :)

[stainlessbanner]

Orlando has it's own problems - officials have been kicking around a tri-city rail system for over 10 years. The Tampa-Orlando-Miami line is racking up billions in costs and studies.

Meanwhile, the road systems suffer.....

[dubyagee]

Cox said the city should rescind the tax and put the project -- with its updated cost -- back before voters.

Hehhehhe...now that would be the logical solution, but when has government ever been logical?