COMMENT: Light Rail, Cont’d
Commentary by Rick Reiff
ORANGE COUNTIANS CONTINUE TO SHUN MASS TRANSIT, NO MATTER how clogged the roads get or what the Orange County Transportation Authority tries to do to juice ridership. Only 2.8% of residents said they took public transportation to work in 2000, up a miniscule three-tenths of a percent from 10 years earlier, according to Census numbers reported on by the Register.
But what’s the response of local politicians, bureaucrats and fee-hungry consultants? Why, more public transportation for OC.
OCTA has decided to spend $38 million on engineering studies for the controversial Centerline light-rail project, as an anticipated prelude to spending an estimated $1.5 billion beginning in 2006 to build it, followed by an estimated $30 million a year to operate it. All this for 18 miles of track connecting just three cities (Irvine, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa).
That ought to get mass-transit ridership up to 3%.
More Railing…
AS THE LIGHT RAIL DEBATE ROLLS ON, I’M SURE WE’LL HEAR OCTA cite a survey by the American Public Transportation Association as evidence that public transportation has finally gained traction in the county and demand for it is on the rise.
The study, whose results were released in March, found that OC bus ridership increased by 10% last year, more than any other community in the nation. Indeed, OCTA boss Art Leahy called it “a wonderful trend,” and the local dailies went for the bait, with headlines that read “OC bus line in high gear,” and “More passengers enjoying the ride.”
Actually, it’s the papers that were taken for a ride. All the survey results really show is OCTA’s ability to squeeze blood from a turnip. You see, to attract new riders OCTA added 20% more buses (86) and 20% more hours of service (278,000). So it spent 20% more to get 10% more.
In bureaucracy, that’s called growth. In the real world, that’s called diminishing returns.
, Rick Reiff
