The Washington Policy Center has found that
transit agencies in the Puget Sound region collect two-thirds of all transportation taxes and fees but only serve less than 3 percent of all trips.In particular:
Sound Transit is on pace to collect almost $30 billion in total tax collections by 2030, yet only projects to carry 2.5 percent of all trips made in the Puget Sound region by 2030.Yes, it's a lot of money, but the cost is the benefit. Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at February 24, 2010 03:13 PM | Email This
It's about providing transportation choices.
Posted by: Palouse on February 24, 2010 03:07 PMSeattle could have been the envy of the nation with a bus transit system that actually served non-auto transit needs, and was simultaneously fiscally responsible. But since when have Progressives ever been fiscally responsible? So instead, we have a multi billion dollar train to nowhere, and leaders who can hob knob with their union peers in other cities and talk about how much they care and about their toy trains.
Posted by: Jeff B. on February 24, 2010 04:02 PMMaybe that two thirds is how they pay for all their Priuses.
I've never rode one but I drop off my wife at the Tukwila station semi-reg and the parking lot is always full. She says there's always like 20 people on it. Sounds pretty good to me.
Posted by: Matt M on February 25, 2010 12:28 AMYes it is, because transit fare box revenue is based on a ridiculous subsidized lie. It's cheap to ride transit, because they know if the fare was more in line with actual capital and expense costs, no one would ride transit at all.
For the record, unlike the lame progressive assertions that all right leaning people are against transit, I am not. But, what we need is fiscally responsible transit that fits with all of the infrastructure we have already developed. We should have gone with buses given our limited, water logged geography.
But progressives are nothing if not keeping up with their progressive peers. The looked South to Portland and got very jealous of Portland's toys and had to have them here, even though the costs are prohibitive. Say hello to government insolvency Democrat style.
Posted by: Jeff B. on February 25, 2010 03:08 PMSeriously people, can't anyone in government perform basic math calculations? Can't we determine a realistic price per trip cap and only fund public transit options that fall under that cap?
I worked in Brazil a couple years ago, and there are plenty of private bus companies that provide service to move commuters in the morning and afternoon for a reasonable price, why that model doesn't work here is beyond me.
Posted by: Dan also on March 1, 2010 09:26 AM