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(erielack) RE:

Ed:
 
Interesting analysis.  My thought is that since commuter rail is unlikely to
be profitable with affordable fares, we should really be looking at
ridership/demand and capacity.  If there is "enough" actual ridership or
projected demand given existing or projected capacity, subsidies should be
considered.  (Not sure how to define "enough", but it would certainly be
greater than 50%).
 
 
 
Greg Botvinik
Highland Park, NJ
botvinesq_@_optonline.net

  _____  

From: etmontgomery_@_verizon.net [mailto:etmontgomery@verizon.net] 
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 2:41 PM
To: erielack_@_lists.railfan.net
Subject: 


A couple of thoughts about subsidies: There never seems to be an end to
them. Yes European trains are subsidized by the government along with other
services. Europeans are used to a high percentage of their income taken in a
confiscatory manner through taxation. Gasoline is expensive in Europe
primarily because of the tax on it. I don't think most Americans are ready
for this. When EL, PC, and CNJ ran their own commuter operations, even when
receiving state subsidies, they were restricted in their requests for fare
increases to cover operating costs. When NJDOT took over, fares skyrocketed
over night yet the operating costs are yet to be covered. Government needs
to look at how many people actually benefit from some form of mass transit.
The majority of people are probably not commuting to where buses and trains
go. I would speculate that there maybe close to half, maybe more of the
population that travels less than five miles to work. I've made sure I have
done that through! most of my professional life. Commuter rail is difficult
to operate in a cost-effective manner. It would be nice to float some tax
free bonds to fund it, but they would never ever be paid off. When Erie,
Lackawanna, Pennsylvania, New York Central, CNJ, PRSL, and others handled
enough freight to cover costs, they could absorb the commuter losses. I
might have been a better idea for New Jersey and other states to offer tax
reductions in return for operating the commuter trains than taxing the crap
out of the companies and ultimately having to take over their operations.
Thinking of Hudson County, I wonder how much they actually gained from
taxing the railroads and ultimately chasing them out. Some form of tax
relief was probably granted when Newport was developed. It is probably not
producing the tax revenue the railroads generated. Ed Montgomery The Erie
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