It’s bad enough that “Albuquerque Rapid Transit” will cripple the economic viability of businesses along historic Route 66, induce traffic congestion, (likely) run well over budget, and do zilch to attract and retain Millennial-generation homesteaders.
Now, ART is going electric. According to the Albuquerque Journal, the city is poised to become the first “in the country to operate a fleet of 60-foot-long electric buses. It also would give the city’s bus rapid transit system a chance to earn a gold environmental rating; no other rapid ride transportation system in the U.S. is gold-rated.”
It’s worth noting that Albuquerque has some of the cleanest air in the country, and hardly needs the minuscule emission reductions that would result from electric buses. But of greater concern is the price tag. The buses will cost $7 million more than comparable diesel models. But the Duke City’s mayor, claiming to be “a fiscal conservative,” claims that operating expenses will result in a net lifetime savings of $14 million. If you buy that justification … you haven’t been paying close attention to ART supporters’ tenuous connection to fiscal reality.
Albuquerque’s experiencing a crime wave. Downtown is a ghost town. The metro region has yet to regain all the jobs it lost in the Great Recession. The police department is, to be charitable, troubled. And taxes keep going up.
Maybe the city’s “leaders” should have other priorities than an electrically powered transit project that isn’t wanted, and can’t work?
The ART project needs to be halted and thoroughly reevalutated. There is NOT overwhelming support for the project and that should justify a re-look.
I foresee this being Berry’s equivalent to Richardson’s Roadrunner Train.
It’s called the “Rail Runner”, and there is no intelligent way to compare the Rail Runner with ART.
The concept of Flat Earth is alive and well in New Mexico
I’m not sure I understand your point here. The author makes no statements or allusions to the Rail Runner. Please explain what you mean. Thanks.
This is the truth on BYD: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/01/byd-china-electric-car_n_4964233.html
It’s not a new article. It’s from 2014. Wake up, Richard Berry!