The House Republican transportation bill ends gas tax subsidies of transit and requires that any new rail projects receiving “New Starts” grants meet strict financial tests and not simply be awarded on the basis of some vague concept such as “livability.” In response, Secretary of Livability Ray LaHood says it is vital to keep funding transit out of gas taxes. As an example, he cites the Portland-to-Milwaukie light-rail line, which he says is “an integral part of rebuilding the nation’s economy.”
Really? This 7.3-mile line line is expected to cost $1.5 billion and carry just 9,300 new riders (that is, people who weren’t previously riding the bus) each weekday. Since most people ride round trip, that 4,650 round-trip riders a day. The high cost is enough money to buy each of those new round-trip riders a new Toyota Prius every year for the 30-year life of the project.
This will be the most expensive, and one of the least-used, light-rail lines in Portland. The light-rail will be slower than many of the buses in the corridor–buses that will be cancelled when the rail line opens.
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Since Portlanders voted in 1998 not to raise their property taxes to pay for it, the region’s transit agency, TriMet, is scrambling for funds to build the project. Not coincidentally, TriMet is suffering from a “budget crisis” that is forcing it to increase fares and make huge cuts in bus service.
Milwaukie residents, who have voted against light rail almost every time it has been on the ballot, are petitioning to put a measure on the ballot forbidding their city from contributing any money to the project. Residents of Clackamas County (the county Milwaukie is located in), who have a similar voting history, have a similar petition. While TriMet is only asking for $5 million from the city and $25 million from the county, the line’s finances are so shaky that passage of these measures could kill it.
TriMet is counting on the feds to cover half the cost of the line, or about $750 million. This line is only an integral part of rebuilding the economy if you believe the economy benefits by replacing faster, cheaper transportation with slower, more expensive service. If the next transportation bill does not fully fund New Starts, that money is not likely to be forthcoming. That will be a good thing for Portland taxpayers, who will have a lower tax burden and better transit service as a result.
Antiplanner: enough money to buy each of those new round-trip riders a new Toyota Prius every year for the 30-year life of the project
JK: Looking at that statement, I’ll bet it is also “enough money to buy” every “round-trip riders a new Toyota Prius every” few “year(s) for the 30-year life of the project”
Thanks
JK
Without those federal dollars, would there have been any construction of rail transit projects in the United States since 1960?
I can think of exactly one rail project that was delivered without federal funding in that time period – that would be the “original” trolley line in San Diego County, Calif. between downtown San Diego and the Mexican border at San Ysidro, now known as the Blue Line.
Antiplanner wrote:
“The high cost is enough money to buy each of those new round-trip riders a new Toyota Prius every year for the 30-year life of the project.”
That’s a good way of looking at the cost, provided that it is accepted that many of the passengers cannot drive (too young, too old, no license, medical issues, etc.)
“…carry just 9,300 new riders (that is, people who weren’t previously riding the bus)”
They might as well count the bus riders since the house republicans don’t like buses either. Remember, this is not a simple attack on rail transit (I wish it was). Let’s be honest, it’s an attack on anything that the government has a hand in (sans anything that kills people in central Asia).
FrancisKing said: “That’s a good way of looking at the cost, provided that it is accepted that many of the passengers cannot drive (too young, too old, no license, medical issues, etc.)”
Many of these people use specialized bus services, which are also under attack from house republicans, particularly for non-emergency medical transportation funded by medicaid.
Lobbies on behalf of private actors have devised a system here in TX where medicaid pays a flat rate to private transit companies to provide medicaid trips. They are not paid per trip, so the incentive is to provide as little service as possible to increase profits (see: medical insurance). This is coupled with the fact that these companies are mostly unregulated and do not have the same safety and maintenance standards a public transit providers. In the Texarkana region I saw a private Medicaid transit provider vehicle (mini van) that had no muffler, no driver side window and reeked of cigarette smoke. Because Texas republicans don’t like government, this is what grandma gets to go to dialysis in.
WTF? You guys can’t cheat and not expect there to consequences. You don’t even want to acknowledge that there are 100,000+ miles of rail line missing in the USA!
They might as well count the bus riders since the house republicans don’t like buses either. Remember, this is not a simple attack on rail transit…it’s an attack on anything that the government has a hand in
It is clearly a key part of the culture wars (go back in time and see how they frame it), and rural white conservatives are scared of anything in cities. If it were an attack on anything th’ ding-dang gummint had a hand in, there would be no road subsidies, mortgage subsidies, ag subsidies, etc.
It is only an attack on The Other. Their standard overreach likely will ensure their attacks with taxpayer money will end soon. Fortunately for them, there are plenty of Heritages and Heartlands around with lots of funding.
DS
The republicans and tea party do not dislike buses. They oppose unsustainable transit systems.
sprawl said:
The republicans and tea party do not dislike buses. They just oppose transit systems.
THWM
Oh Massah Dan. We thang you so much for being our massah and speaking for us without us aksing, ’cause my people ain’t never gonnah be list’n to by “rural conservative white people.”
We be happy that white urban planners attack all rural people because “they” (white skin honkeys) be afraid of “The Other.” We colored folk and yur honky planner ass ain’t never attack folks who ain’t thinkin’ like us, ’cause ya know, like “The Other,” except maybe for just now.
I ain’t gonna’ thank too hard about it, ’cause otherwise my uneducated mind would thank we gonna’ do what we accuse those white rascist honkeys of doin’.
I gonna spread yur white ass honkey ed’cated planner thoughts all over, K?
sprawl,
That’s just it. Non-emergency medical transportation for the poor, disabled and elderly is not financially sustainable. That’s why subsidy is required. If the tea party has a better idea them “let ’em die,” (as shown in the GOP debate they sponsored) I’m all ears.
And…
As Mr. O’Toole has noted in his New Starts posts, often bus service is a more efficient and cost effective way to transport people when the cost of rail projects are shown. The GOP might not dislike buses in a general sense, but the don’t like transit buses, especially the ones that are used to transport democratic constituents. That’s not a nuanced assessment of budgetary constraints, that’s politics (exactly what they claim to despise).
Andy and Dan,
Funny enough, rural transit for the elderly is one of the biggest unmet transit needs in America. JARC and New Freedom federal grants have gone a long way to alleviating many of the rural transportation gaps, but we have a long way to go. If the GOP has their way, rural services will be some of the first to be cut. I personally believe that we should collectively pony up a little cash so that our elderly citizens in rural America can live in dignity.
p.s. Almost all of these services are curb to curb. Just want to nip the whole “elderly walking and waiting in the cold for a bus” thing in the bud. It doesn’t really happen.
Hello Bennett,
I don’t doubt that you saw this,”I saw a private Medicaid transit provider vehicle (mini van) that had no muffler, no driver side window…”. You saw one bad actor, whose vehicle could not have passed inspection much less be insured on a commercial policy form. But that has nothing to do with how the program is implemented or funded. I insure one such service and the vehicles and service are nothing like you describe. The owner told me that they are paid on a per trip basis and the rider chooses the service provider. EMS vehicles in Texas are mostly private and also paid on a similar per trip scheme through Medicaid and other insurance providers and they are not unsafe.
Almost all of these services are curb to curb. Just want to nip the whole “elderly walking and waiting in the cold for a bus†thing in the bud. It doesn’t really happen.
We just had bus service cut here in this District, both for the disabled and the dial-up. If this keeps up, you will have more people living in density despite some think-tanks wishing for large-lot single-fam subsidies to continue.
YOYO if you aren’t part of the 1%.
DS
U B cool, Bennett, as me Gma get rides to doctors without the ultra light trains and high speed doodads. We B jus’ wanna go 2 miles 99% of ‘r time.
Good idear, massah Dan. In the’r suburbs and rural areas, without smart planner help, they folks have relatives who take the’r disabled folks around. But thanks to decades of help from massah planners like Dan, us urban folks have “intensively planned communities” where nobody does nothin’ for nobody, and we got no families. Thang ya massah planner Dan. Thang ya for attackin’ tha whiteys here.
Jardinero1,
If the service you describe is funded by Medicaid in TX, than they are 1. not paid per trip or 2. paid by trip from a “broker” (that’s code for middle man that soaks up money) who is paid the flat rate. The vehicle that I saw was on an inspection after a law suit had already been filed on behalf of a passenger (don’t really appreciate you calling me a liar). I’ve been involved in a couple of cases involving Medicaid fraud and seen many private operations that specialize in Medicaid transportation in TX. I can tell you that every vehicle, to my recollection, is not maintained or operated to the same standards as similar vehicles operated by public transit agencies. But then again why would they when they’re not held to the same standard, nor inspected as often.
I should note that the case of the cigarette van was an outlier and it is not indicative of the entire private Medicaid transportation industry in TX, but the vehicles are almost always maintained better and the drivers are trained better.
bennett,
I agree that contractors can provide lousy service. But the benefit of contracting is that you can fire the contractor that sucks and try a new one. You can’t fire a city service that sucks.
If a city gets a reputation for high standards, a little flexibility, and absolutely no corruption, the city can get amazing service for bargain prices.
Sandy,
No doubt. Fact is, many public transit agencies contract paratransit services with companies like First Transit. They tend to do a very good job. They also operate under the category of “public transit” and are therefore held to a high standard for safety and training. In TX private medicaid providers are not held to that same standard and it shows. Actually, I take that back. They didn’t used to be until the law suits started to fly and get the politicians attention. Last legislature session the standards were raised for them. As a result two companies have been kicked out of two regions here in TX.
So I guess I agree with you Sandy. If private entities are held to the same standard as public entities, going private often makes sense. Otherwise it’s a race to the bottom.
Hello Bennett,
I apologize if you think I called you a liar. In fact, I did not. I said “I don’t doubt you saw… ” that means I believe you. I only know what my customers tell me. This lady operates a small fleet of vehicles ranging from dodge neons to 10 passenger vans. She totes the elderly on medicare and the needy on medicaid. No she does not run it to the same standard as a transit agency or a limo service. The drivers are not even required to have commercial driver licenses. It’s basically a taxi service, nothing more.
Thanks for the clarification. This person probably uses the brokerage system I described above.
I will ask her in more detail the way it works. Your comments are always enlightening, as are Dan’s, Sandy’s, et al; even the Highwayman, when he’s not shouting “the antiplanner is a fraud”. That phrase is finding a place in my consciousness alongside such stock phrases as “Impeach Bush!”, “Ron Paul!”, “Bush lied, people died.”
That phrase is finding a place in my consciousness alongside such stock phrases as …“Bush lied, people died.â€
Exactly so. His handlers lied to him, and he simply mouthed the words.
I recall when I lived in Sacto, The Bee was one of the best papers in the country. They were connected and printed more stories than most newspapers. At any rate, they always printed a panel discussion of big political names (in CA, they are leaders in the country) doing a post-mortem on the last election. I can’t forget what several of the big boys said about Junior right after the election and before the Supremes gave him the vote: he was selected by a small group to be their figurehead because he could play the part. The PNAC got what they wanted and we’re stuck with it.
DS
O’Toole is a fraud. Where is the need for a lobbyist for the street in front of your house?
I hear there is a private outfit willing to build a mono rail line between Milwaukie (Oregon) and Portland for only about $20 million plus rights of ways.
In other parts of the world, rail commuter lines are much faster than Portland’s light rail hybrid system. These other places have rail commuting lines underground or above ground where it doesn’t clog street traffic. Heck, existing express bus systems are twice as fast in Portland as the corresponding light rail offering. It’s funny even one of light rail’s chief proponents in Portland is noneother than Tom Hughes of Metro, who admits he only infrequently rides the system because it is too slow. I guess the rest of us dogs in the Portland area don’t deserve the time savings of automobile commuting, versus that of light rail.
Portland’s various government leaders are addicted to these federal monies like New Starts because they have a large amount of adminstrative funding, helping keep their government fiefdoms fat and happy along with their architect friends. The studies of the economic merits of their light rail proposals treat the federal monies as costless and free. But I can tell you the citizens paying federal gasoline taxes don’t pay without sacrifice and productive effort. The studies ought not treat federal monies as without cost as they routinely do in Portland.
Hopefully, the U.S House GOP leadership stands strong and doesn’t relent on its position against New Starts.
The Republicans aren’t interested in trying to pay down debt, if they wanted to they’d at least increase gas taxes to pay down the $800 billion spent on Iraq!
I hear there is a private outfit willing to build a mono rail line between Milwaukie (Oregon) and Portland for only about $20 million plus rights of ways.
I hear there are private individuals spreading scurrilous disinformation on comment boards to throw a wrench into the gears.
My accusation has equal value to the italicized, and is equally likely to be true.
DS