<p>A nearly empty train prepares to leave the Santa Teresa Station on VTA's light rail system in San Jose.</p>
<p>Silicon Valley's light-rail network, already ranked among the most expensive and least efficient in the nation, has gotten even worse.</p>
<p>Trains that were once near capacity now carry about 15 passengers per car, among the fewest of similar trolley lines in the country. And from 2001 to 2003, fewer riders and growing expenses combined to more than double the cost of providing a trip. Last year, the VTA spent a whopping $8.42 per passenger per trip -- even though it charged those passengers $1.50.</p>