American Dream

RALEIGH, NC - The Federal Transit Authority's officials provided new details about why they have, for a second year, declined the Triangle Transit Authority's rail plan stating that they have problems with TTA's forecast for how many people would ride its trains and about whether TTA could cover the cost of building and operating the rail system while continuing to provide bus service. "They [TTA officials] assume that the growth in [operating] costs will be less than inflation, and the growth of revenues will be more than inflation," said Sean Libberton, who oversees an FTA analysis office. "History does not bear that out."