The Daily Post's Dave Price finally said the quiet part out loud yesterday and today the Merc has a new poll out that amplifies his position on Caltrain. We asked the existential question three years ago here. Price notes that ridership has plummeted from 30,000 per day to 10,000 which he says:
All of that should cause our leaders here on the Peninsula to question the need to spend billions on train bridges, also known as grade separations....Let's wait to see if ridership increases before we plunge ourselves further into debt.
Remember this from exactly five years ago? I'll bet the Board would prefer you didn't.
An update on the development of the Business Plan provided to the Caltrain Board of Directors shows that significantly increased Caltrain service could capture ridership demand that increases from 65,000 daily riders in 2018, to 243,000 daily riders in 2040.
And now the Merc is out with survey results that are eye-opening
The poll of 1,802 registered voters in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo counties conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 6 by Embold Research found 56% say commuter rail — BART, Caltrain and light rail, like VTA and Muni Metro — is important for the Bay Area and must be maintained even if it costs taxpayers more money.
100%-56% means 44% say "Commuter rail costs enough already in taxes and fares, and if it can't make it financially, it should be cut back".
And it gets worse when Bay Area voters are asked about specific funding mechanisms. The most support was for raising the fares passengers pay to ride trains, and that was just 22%. It went down from there: 18% would raise bridge tolls, 16% would raise gas taxes, 11% would raise sales taxes and another 11% would charge autos per mile driven. The most popular response? None of the above, at 56%.
Of course, the answer is obvious to anyone paying attention. Instead of the Feds sending another $202 million of good money to the High-cost rail project, they should just send it to local transit.
September 25, 2023 SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In the strongest show of a continued partnership, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) announced today receiving nearly $202 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to expand construction of high-speed rail by completing six grade separations.
Good money after bad. And where is the Gavinor to bring some sanity to this boondoggle? MIA.
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