My “quick answer” to that is that is it environmentally cleaner to run one bus carrying ten passengers than to run ten cars.
Fortunately my commute is 13 carpeted stairs - except for the occasional airport run and it will take a few years for all of the pieces of that one to get in place - but I am looking forward to that. Yes I will take a ride for the fun of it. Last time I took a train over the SLC - Ogden line was 1967.
dd
The Traxx light rail line out to the airport will be a boon to people catching a flight, or to folks coming in to visit the state. I’m looking forward to when there’s a light rail line to the Sugarhouse area of SLC.
I would have liked to have rode a train to Ogden in 1967, but I wouldn’t be born until the following year. Did you take a UP train, or did the Rio Grande offer service to Ogden?
[quote user=“penncentral2002”]
“The greater miles traveled on of roads is not relevent. The costs are per passenger-mile traveled.”
So we’ll losing money on every mile driven, but we’re making it up in volume?
Seriously, you’re basing your argument on the American Autombile Association figures? That is about the equivilent of basing an argument on smoking from figures from one of those “consumer” groups that the Tobacco Institute used to fund. It might appear more neutral coming from the AAA than the oil companies and automakers, but the AAA is still a pro-driving lobbying group. They’ll use the cost per passenger mile figure despite the fact that it is extremely flawed measurement to try to convince people that building public transit isn’t cost effective. Quite simply you can’t compare the cost per passenger mile of driving with the cost per passenger mile of public transit because driving includes low cost rural areas while public transit includes only high cost urban areas. The social cost of a person driving his or her kid to school in a rural area isn’t comparable to the person commuting by themselves in an urban area - even if they travel the same distance. Yet, the AAA will use both groups and use the way lower cost of the roads for the rural driver with a passenger to balance out the higher cost of the individual driver in an urban area. Then they will use the parking fees, higher insurance rates, and higher gas prices paid by the urban driver to make it look like the rural driver is paying more than he or she really is. They will use the better gas mileage (excepting hybrids) that rural/highway driving gets over city driving to make cars look more fuel efficient. They will balance the lower cost of rural road construction with the high cost of urban road building - you can’t do that with transit systems which are only built and operated in high
Like most such public ad campaigns, eventually the reality of commuter rail will be light years difference from the bill of goods sold to the public during an election period. 10 years from now the same folks who voted in favor of transit will be the first ones in line complaining about all the unadvertised shortcomings of transit - extra time to travel from home to transit station, lack of decent highways to get to places transit doesn’t go to, etc.
Voters do stupid things all the time, and 2006 will be remembered as a watershed election for stupidity: Like those in Washington who voted in favor of a 15% renewable mandate for utilities - when their power bills are 35% higher than they otherwise should be, those same folks who voted in favor of the renewable mandate will be the first ones complaining about the resulting higher cost of their electricity.
As opposed to ICF International, AAR, NARP, et al?
Remember that these people have been using light rail transit for nearly 10 years - so they already have seen the limitations and shortcomings. But they have also had several freeways expanded and saw what had to be demolished to make room and how little impact on congestion was actually made. Ridership in the SLC area is still increasing each year.
dd
And the commonly taught economic theories and DOT analysts historically have completely neglected the costs of LAND USE in comparing different modes of transportation.
| I am a commuter as well I only wish the rest of the drivers I see everyday would join in…I read a recent article in my local paper that I35 would be under construction 4 more years…By then They will need to do more construction…Building more roads is not the answer…WE NEED TRAINS, Regional COMMUTER TRAINS…Thanks for letting me vent ! Danny |
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UP - then from Ogden up Weber Canyon to Green River and on to Chicago.