Among the arguments rail advocates use is that rail transit costs less to operate than buses. The savings, they suggest, will soon pay for the cost of rail construction.
"As pointed out on page 353 of The Vanishing Automobile, a major flaw in this reasoning is that light-rail operating costs are not comparable to bus operating costs. New light-rail lines "skim the cream" of transit riders because they tend to be built in the busiest transit corridors. Since costs per passenger mile depend heavily on ridership, the cost of any transit running in a busy corridor is likely to be less than the cost of a bus roaming through low-density suburbs.
...If transit agencies truly want to save money on operating costs, the data point to a much better way than spending hundreds of millions or billions on rail transit. Several transit agencies that have light rail also contract out some of their bus services to private operators."
FULL STORY: Does Light Rail Pay for Itself?

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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