Randal O’Toole spoke earlier this week on the issue of Albuquerque’s transportation future. In particular he focused on the City’s proposed bus rapid transit system, the Rail Runner, and the future of transportation. The entire presentation is below (slides here). Below that are some of the most important slides from O’Toole’s presentation. If you want to get active against bus rapid transit, there is a grassroots activism organization called “Save Route 66.”
The proposed bus rapid transit system will increase congestion in the Central corridor, just ask the consultants tasked by the City with looking at the proposal:
Portland, OR, is often touted as a “model” for mass transit, but after spending billions of dollars, transit carries fewer passengers than it did in 1980:
Transit is a trivial portion of the transportation mix in Albuquerque:
Transit appeals to those who make almost nothing and those who have very high incomes and can choose to locate next to it. For working/middle class Americans, transit is far less useful:
Albuquerque’s bus system is not especially “green” when it comes to energy use. It’s hard to believe a new bus system will be a dramatic improvement:
Excellent presentation that confirms most of my skepticism about bus rapid transit. I had not realized that most of the development attributed to mass transit is the result of other subsidies — which probably is why we see developers advocating mass transit.
Too bad that Mr. O’Toole did not make his presentation to Bill Richardson and the N.M. legislature prior to the vote on Railrunner, aka Railroader.
For the life of me I don’t understand what the City’s leaders see as a benefit to spending 100 million on this project, even if 80 million of that comes from the Feds. It’s all our tax money regardless of where it comes from! The businesses on the route lose auto traffic as well as parking – how can this be good for them? And, I seriously doubt the retail sales in this corridor even approaches that of the Louisiana Uptown area, which this won’t even serve!! What’s the benefit here?