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RE: (erielack) NJ/PA - Environmental Assessment for Lackawanna Cutoff now ava...

Ahh that.

So the auto industrial complex pretty much put the streetcar lines out of business in a hostile takeover that took away that option. Leaving much more expensive commuter rail to fill in the gap. 

If commuter rail was modernized, efficient, and available to more than a few of our larger cities we would have a larger percentage using them. Look at Dallas/Ft. Worth and the gains both DART light rail and TRE heavy rail ridership has soared in the 13 years since the first light rail line opened. This is a car culture city and light rail is growing at an enormous rate. From nothing in 1996 to: DART light-rail ridership totaled 19.4 million (about 60,000 trips a day), up 8.6 percent, and TRE ridership totaled 2.7 million, up 10.9 percent compared with FY2007's totals.

Dallas and Ft Worth have major growth plans for both TRE and light rail in both cities. 



- -----Original Message-----
From: J. Henry Priebe Jr. [mailto:root_@_bluemoon.net] 
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 16:00
To: Jim Guthrie; EL Mail List
Subject: Re: (erielack) NJ/PA - Environmental Assessment for Lackawanna Cutoff now ava...

On Fri, 19 Jun 2009, Jim Guthrie wrote:

> Henry writes:
> 
> >I have never been a big fan of train rider welfare.
> 
> Highway engineers figure the subsidy from general taxation for motorists runs around 44-46%; rail advocates figure it at 56-60%; the strong libertarian anti-gummint, anti-tax folk figure it at 88%.
> 
> What makes automobile drivers so special that they receive substatial subsidies, but you think rail riders don't?
> 

The percentage of people who drive.


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