“Peters stressed that creation of a federal-state funding partnership was specifically called for by the Bush Administration as part of its long standing intercity passenger rail reform effort.”

Here’s the link:

http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/press-releases/173

http://www.baycrossings.com/dispnews.asp?id=515

This is a cut and paste from the current FRA press release:

Sounds nice. Has anyone bothered to look at the details of the “Intercity Passenger Rail Reform?” It should properly be titled the Passenger Rail Elimination Act. I remain amazed that this administration can sugar-coat cow pies and people (sorry Erik) line up to swallow them.

Take a close look at this and decide if you prefer humble pie or cow pie.

Does an automobile driver ever disclaim that they’re a beneficiary of the 100% taxpayer subsidy when they’re driving on local roads? They just assume that everyone is happy to pay for the traffic cops, street repair crews, and hospitals so that we can have many lanes of traffic streaming around our towns.

Personally I’d rather see my tax dollars spent on safer, more space & fuel efficient transit.

Caltrain (also operated under a contract with Amtrak) “reinvented” itself mid-decade and the results have been a success. Make it possible for the train to be competitive with the car and people will ride. I took a 4:33pm baby bullet on Wednesday, and it was busy the entire length of the route. People who exited at the mid-Peninsula stations were replaced with new riders going to San Jose. Caltrain says that are taking in more revenue under this operating pattern, because people can ride longer distances (which cost more) in less time.

I realize that public transportation is subsidized, but do consider that those who use transit are frequently doing so to earn wages, which are taxed. In some sense we are just reaping some benefit from our tax payments. I rode Caltrain for nearly 3 years before taking a job where I work exclusively at home.

Finally, roads are certainly heavily subsidized…gas taxes and fees do not come close to covering the cost of construction and maintenance.

I’m with you–give me a train, a laptop with something to read or watch and I’m a happy commuter. The rest of you can enjoy the traffic jams and accidents.