Here's what Slimeball Stuart, The Liar Leave-it and the rest of the
CTran scum have been trying to ram down our throats... speaks for
itself.
by Cascade Policy Institute Thursday, December 12. 2013
By John A. Charles, Jr.
Earlier this week, I wrote on Oregon Catalyst about the problems TriMet is having with its constantly failing rail system. On Wednesday, TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane announced
that the agency is hiring an outside firm to review light rail
maintenance needs. The contract will cost a maximum of $245,000.
This is an important acknowledgment by TriMet that the vaunted
regional rail system is suffering from chronic breakdowns that will
require ever-increasing levels of maintenance.
The ownership problems associated with rail transit are well known
within the industry. Indeed, four years ago the head of the Federal
Transit Administration (FTA), Peter Rogoff, gave a speech
on this topic to a room full of transit executives. Mr. Rogoff reminded
people that rail systems have significant long-term costs. FTA had
recently concluded that there were more than $78 billion in deferred
maintenance costs for public transit agencies in the U.S., and three-fourths of those costs were associated with rail systems.
TriMet management is having to face up to this reality. The supposed
“operating advantages” of hauling rail cars disappear when the lifecycle
costs of rail system ownership are taken into account. Bus transit
doesn’t face these problems. The cost of a bus is only one-tenth the
cost of a rail car; it can be sent to many locations rather than a few
dozen; and the ubiquitous road system is paid for by millions of
motorists, not the transit agency. This keeps the maintenance costs of
bus transit to a manageable level.
Unfortunately, TriMet is in a financial free-fall, and absorbing
substantial costs for depreciation and maintenance of light rail will
worsen the fall for a long time to come.
John A. Charles, Jr. is President and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization.
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