Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
Capital Metro promised 1700-2000 riders within months. I predicted 500-1000 riders. It delivered somewhere around 800 a few months in.
Then, Capital Metro cancelled the most popular express bus competition and started running trains all day. After those modifications, ridership eventually rose to what was promised without those modifications.
|
Why would you keep around a duplicative service? You complain about operating subsidies and then want to run completely redundant services?
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
Capital Metro never sought Federal funding for the line, despite campaign promises to do so, drawing down capital by at least another $30 million beyond the tens of millions spent due to typical overruns (typical for any rail project).
|
I agree, I've never seen a satisfactory answer as to why they didn't apply for federal funds. My guess is that they ran afoul of buy-american or something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
The project vastly exceeded original promises for operating subsidies
|
What's your source for this? Because...
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
and even now requires taxpayers kick in around $20/ride,
|
Which is about the same for what they were kicking in for each rider of the commuter _bus_ you were such a fan of. Or that they kick in for each rider of all the remaining commuter buses. Commuter service _always_ has a higher operating subsidy. It's a factor of distance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
mostly for the benefit of people riding from jurisdictions who don't actually pay Capital Metro taxes.
|
You keep making this claim with no support.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
as bus service was actually cut in Austin during a period of population growth and sales tax recovery.
|
And of rising gas prices and rising health care costs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
Our best bus corridor has seen a marked DECLINE in ridership
|
10% after a couple of months (when the system is only half-finished), is hardly a "marked decline".
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
as Capital Metro screwed their actual taxpayers by creating an incompatible service
|
So you can't transfer from the rapid to a local bus? Oh right, you can.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
and cutting half the locals on the same line.
|
They didn't cut half the locals. More like 40%.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
If you call that a success, I'd be curious how you would define a failure.
|
Something that isn't performing after a few years. These are systems which are going to operating for decades. Making snap judgments after a few months (or even worse, after a few _days_ like you were doing with MR) is completely worthless.