Light rail has to be one of the worst forms of public transportation. Demographics change over time but rail tracks can not. Light rail systems are so expensive that you could have taken the same money and bought a Prius for every regular rider. The maintenance and upkeep amount to about $10,000 per regular rider - that would buy a lot of gas for said Priuses (Prii?).
From New Jersey Online:
No money for transportation without new gas tax, N.J. lawmaker tells rail coalition
It would take 30 years of dedicating all the money in New Jersey's dwindling Transportation Trust Fund to debt service to pay it all off, unless a new revenue source is found, state Assemblyman John Wisniewski told members of a rail advocacy group Monday.
"There is no money, anywhere, in state government to fund transportation," Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) said.
Wisniewski, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, said during the monthly meeting of the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition that he believes a gas-tax increase would be a sustainable way to make sure the state can finance its necessary transportation work.
"Without finding new money for the Transportation Trust Fund, if we just rely on what we have now, it essentially means doing nothing until almost the year 2050," Wisniewski said. "I don't think any of us, who want to see more robust rail service, or more bus service, or better roads and bridges, will just accept the notion that we sit back and do nothing for more than a generation."
They are proposing a 25¢/gallon tax hike. Talk about incentivizing people to move out of state... Be sure to read the 310+ comments - a lot of people are very hacked at the spending levels.
Interesting in that the responsibility for the overspending falls directly in Gov. Christie's lap. Do as I say, not as I do...
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