Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
As long as it’s done with PRIVATE money, I welcome its success (or failure).
But if it’s “8 cents per mile” along with capital costs that work out to $8 per mile for the next hundred years (spread across the taxpayers of the state), oh and then another equivalent amount of federal money stolen from me and others who’ll never see it but nonetheless foot the bill, not interested.
And if you think I’m exaggerating, bear in mind that for conventional public transportation, those $2 train rides cost $7-8 in variable costs alone ($8-10 for bus rides), and the fixed costs are left out completely! Even though they make up 50% or more of the total costs, they’re assumed to be ZERO because it’s federal money (so that’s 15-20 bucks of taxpayer expenditure for every 2 bucks in revenue).
An electric rail can move 100, 000 pounds of cargo for 8 cents per mile. The same transport on a truck, with diesel $ 5 per gallon, would be 85 cents per mile. ,?p>
If that's all it costs to transport 100,000 lbs, then why is my electric bill so high?????????
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line_(New_York_City)
< /smirk >
It is idiot envirowhacko thinking like this that burns my butt. Where do they think the electricity come from? Here's a hint: there hasn't been a nuclear power plant built in the US for over 30 years.
When I learned that the Texas Highway Institute was at TX A&M, suddenly the reason for all those screwy freeway interchanges was clear - Aggies designed them! ;)
Once again Gov. Perry and his TTC gang think of creative ways to waste our tax dollars in even more complicated ways.