Sunday, May 22, 2005
Salt Lake Rail Wastes Money
"Over the past decade, UTA (the Utah Transit Authority) has concentrated on the development of rail transit systems that primarily serve affluent areas of the city," says this opinion piece by Michael Ransom, an economics professor from Brigham Young University. Because rail transit is so expensive, operating cost per ride have nearly doubled in the past decade. Yet UTA wants to build more light rail as well as spend $500 million on a commuter-rail line.
"Unfortunately, all of this money spent on rail transit doesn't buy the majority of us, car-driving or bus-riding taxpayers, anything," says Ransom. "It will do nothing to help the poor and disabled, as they aren't interested in commuting from Ogden or Pleasant View to Salt Lake City, and they would need a car to get to the rail stations, anyway. In fact, it will hurt them, because resources used to fund new rail services will make fewer resources available to bus lines that serve poor neighborhoods, and likely will lead to higher fares for bus riders."
"Unfortunately, all of this money spent on rail transit doesn't buy the majority of us, car-driving or bus-riding taxpayers, anything," says Ransom. "It will do nothing to help the poor and disabled, as they aren't interested in commuting from Ogden or Pleasant View to Salt Lake City, and they would need a car to get to the rail stations, anyway. In fact, it will hurt them, because resources used to fund new rail services will make fewer resources available to bus lines that serve poor neighborhoods, and likely will lead to higher fares for bus riders."
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