Tomorrow, Vancouver Washington voters will be asked to raise sales taxes in order to “preserve existing bus service.” Without the sales tax increase, says C-Tran, the transit agency, “C-TRAN would need to implement a system-wide service reduction of about 35 percent by early to mid 2013.”
It turns out that is a lie. An accountant named Tiffany Couch has scrutinized C-Tran’s budget and projected costs and revenues and concluded that existing taxes are sufficient to maintain bus service for many years.
So why does C-Tran say that service will decline without the tax increase? The answer, says Couch, is that C-Tran has already decided it wants to build a light-rail line connecting with Portland’s light rail. Without the tax increase, C-Tran will have to cut bus service in order to pay for the light rail.
It is defined as ejaculation, which occurs during sexual intercourse before viagra online ordering or exactly after dispersion. With kamagra available online now, generic sildenafil canada ED treatment has become easier for the ED sufferers. Some change in lifestyle like your sleeping habits, eating habits, your way of thinking, your home environment etc. can viagra 100mg sales help taking ED away from your relationship. Do you think that they deserve to have two parents who don’t undermine each other viagra cipla india to their children and who speak respectfully to each other in front of their children.
In another transit-agency lie, C-Tran follows TriMet’s example of calling light rail “high-capacity transit,” even though TriMet’s light-rail lines–being limited to two cars per train–have some of the lowest capacities in the nation. Moreover, since Vancouver is one of only four lines that cross the Steel Bridge, which can only move 30 trains an hour each way, an average of only 7.5 trains an hour can make it to Vancouver; at 300 passenger per train (which is probably packed tighter than TriMet rail cars ever really get), that’s just 2,250 people per hour. By comparison, buses can move tens of thousands of people per hour at higher speeds without anyone having to stand in the aisle.
C-Tran doesn’t agree with Couch’s analysis, saying she failed to consider capital improvement costs. She responds by pointing out that the only capital improvement costs she left out were those for light rail and bus-rapid transit. The Vancouver Columbian summarized the debate, giving C-Tran the most space and last word.
If voters approve the tax increase, C-Tran will soon come back to voters again and ask for more taxes for light rail. Even if voters reject those taxes, it will probably still seek to build light rail. C-Tran has caught the Portland-wannabe virus and won’t give up until it has its own massively expensive but little-used train.
O’Toole, the Koch brothers & Cato pay you to lie about public transit on a daily basis.
Highwayman- It is unhonorable to accuse somebody of being bought off by any group of people without proof of wrong doing, be it the Koch brothers or George Soros.
I work in transportation planning and have worked with multiple transit agencies. I happen to know that many transit agencies often inflate cost projections and mislead the public to accomplish goals the administrator or politicans, especially politicans.
I am a strong supporter of transit, especially bus transit, but not at any cost. It pains me to see a transit agency act contemptably and take advantage of the public’s trust. According to supporting documentation, the Anti-planner is absolutely correct in his assesment of C-Tran.
Why is it so difficult to for so many people to believe that the, government, at all levels, lies to its citizens. The government, like corporations and nonprofits are just people except when they lie or cheat, they more often than not aren’t held accountable.
.
Boo-Hoo, at least he is not as well paid as most transit supporting politicians. Two cars per train, is that even enough to handle how many people per hour, 2250? The two largest employers in Vancouver are the Vancouver and Evergreen public schools. I doubt they would use it, unless they build further light rail station to a lot of those said schools. Sure we subsidize free school buses to move students but is it wise to subsidize students being moved by rail at a much higher cost per person. It makes about as much sense as using a stretch Hummer to pick up students.
dhoss, I’m well aware that governments & corporations lie.
I’m also well aware that O’Toole lies too!
Highwayman,
Tell us about your last book, or paper, or conference you have attended. Educate us as Randal and others do.
Tell us about the problems of the Koch brothers.
Best
Highwayman – The Antiplanner website is very clear about its bias. It clearly shows that he works for Cato. I guess the Koch Brothers are a sort of boogeyman, but anyone with Google can find out how much money they give to Cato. Plus the website is named “The Antiplanner”.
That is far more than the NY Times, or the Washington Times, do to reveal their biases. So I am not sure why you stay up late at night to first post that the Antiplanner has a connection to Cato, and Cato gets some of its money from the rich Koch Brothers.
Can someone explain why the Koch brothers are evil?
BTW, C-Tran does indeed LIE. See http://www.C-Trantax.com
Thanks
JK
The Antiplanner wrote:
Tomorrow, Vancouver Washington voters will be asked to raise sales taxes in order to “preserve existing bus service.†Without the sales tax increase, says C-Tran, the transit agency, “C-TRAN would need to implement a system-wide service reduction of about 35 percent by early to mid 2013.â€
Putting aside the merits of this tax increase for a moment, allow me to vent about “off year” elections – especially those held in odd-numbered years. Such elections (held routinely for municipal (but not state or county) elections in Maryland and for very nearly all state and county offices in Virginia) are a prescription for low turnout (and since I became eligible to vote, I have never missed a primary or general election).
Still, I hate odd-year and other off-cycle elections.
C. P. Zilliacus said: “Still, I hate odd-year and other off-cycle elections.”
So do I. Off-year elections often are excuses for bureaucracies like C-Tran to sneak tax increases by the voters, who generally aren’t paying attention in the off years. The only folks who show up are pro-tax people who are motivated to vote. The problem is voter apathy, this might change as the economy gets worse and the tax bite keeps getting bigger.
As for highwayman, please get that Koch Brothers bug out of your rear. dhoss is correct when he reminds us that government agencies lie to the public all the time. The California High Speed Rail Authority is the poster child for dishonest government agencies.
CHSRA’s numbers are more than twice they should be.
JK; Explain why the Koch brothers are evil?
THWM: You want more power & control over other peoples lives.
You break other peoples “windows”, then complain about having to pay to fix them.
Hugh Jardonn wrote:
[quoting me]
“Still, I hate odd-year and other off-cycle elections.â€
[end quote]
So do I. Off-year elections often are excuses for bureaucracies like C-Tran to sneak tax increases by the voters, who generally aren’t paying attention in the off years. The only folks who show up are pro-tax people who are motivated to vote. The problem is voter apathy, this might change as the economy gets worse and the tax bite keeps getting bigger.
I personally dislike this tax increase and agree with Randal’s assertion that this is (effectively) a light rail tax increase, though I have never set foot in Washington State, so it has limited impact on me (though since I am certain that there will be efforts to secure money from the Federal Transit Administration to build this thing if it get approval, I should probably say that it hurts me indirectly).
But I dislike low-turnout elections even more, for they are bad for our democratic system. And I have in the past voted for local tax increases if I felt the proposal had merit (because my home is in an unincorporated area, as is most of Maryland, we have no elections today).
As for highwayman, please get that Koch Brothers bug out of your rear.
I simply ignore what highwayman [sic] posts.
dhoss is correct when he reminds us that government agencies lie to the public all the time. The California High Speed Rail Authority is the poster child for dishonest government agencies.
Agreed.
First, even the (recently revised) $98 billion pricetag to build it is almost certainly too low.
Second, the claim that high-speed rail in California is going to turn a profit is, well, nutty. I have several bridges for sale in the eastern United States to anyone that actually believes such claims.
My view of political arguments is that a lot of it is pay-back from some past attack. Thus, the liberals have their Koch Brothers boogeyman, and the conservatives have their Soros boogeyman. I suppose there is a shred of argument about funding, but mostly it is a dodge of debating ideas by making ad hominem attacks.
I do think the Antiplanner is a model for modern blogs by being forthright in his bias.
On November 8th, 2011, the highwayman said:
JK; Explain why the Koch brothers are evil?
THWM: You want more power & control over other peoples lives.
You break other peoples “windowsâ€, then complain about having to pay to fix them.
JK—-Please provide a coherent answer to my question.
Thanks
JK
Sandy Teal: I do think the Antiplanner is a model for modern blogs by being forthright in his bias.
THWM: That isn’t so, then O’Toole would actually say that he hates railroads, trams, bicycles, walking, etc and only wants people to drive around in single occupancy vehicles.
If guys want to be bigoted assholes, that’s your decision, but be honest about it!