Monday, August 1, 2011

Calling The Fringe Right's Big Lie

You get the usual garbage from the fringe right: mass transit is a waste of money, we should do roads only, etc.

Let me put the issue in perspective: if you took every non-light rail cent of government money in HRT's FY 2011 Budget and plowed it into roads instead, it wouldn't be enough to build two lane miles of interstate. Fact.

On the other hand, Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) moves over 50,000 people every weekday with that money. So you decide: which is the more cost-effective option? It's pretty simple.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please stop trying to confuse me with the facts.

Sincerely,
The VBTA

Max Shapiro said...

...and yet how much better could HRT service be if that $350 million, or even just the state and localities share, were spent improving and expanding bus routes? Even if Light Rail went to the oceanfront, you'd have to be stupid to take it from Norfolk over the 960 unless you just don't have the extra $2 or enjoy sitting on a train for that long. I grew up taking trains into and out of NYC with my dad and I still don't plan on ever using it unless I'm drunk and don't feel like walking home from downtown.

David B said...

Henry...how do I contact you?

Avenging Archangel said...

The blog e-mail is at vbtasucks@yahoo.com

Avenging Archangel said...

Max,

First, that's only true if you're going to the Oceanfront from Cedar Grove or Silverleaf. From or to points in between, LRT makes more sense.

Second, if you know the details of how the 960 is financed, it's hardly a given that it will be there in outlying years.