Wednesday, April 24, 2013
"Study: California High-Speed Rail System Would Lose $124 Million to $373 Million a Year"
Every liberal politician and elected official in California has been pushing high speed rail forever. Unfortunately, no matter how much enthusiasm, this project is going to cost taxpayers money for more than forever...
The Reason.org website has the ugly money losing facts:
"The California High-Speed Rail Authority has already dramatically downgraded its ridership estimates for 2035. In 2008, it promised voters 65.5 million to 117 million riders in 2035. Now it predicts 19.6 million to 31.8 million riders in 2035. The Reason Foundation study finds, however, that even if the system managed to equal European train ridership levels it would hit just 7.6 million rides a year. Thus, ridership in 2035 is likely to be 65 percent to 77 percent lower than currently projected. As a result of these slower travel times, higher ticker costs and low ridership, California taxpayers should expect to pay an additional $124 million to $373 million a year to cover the train’s operating costs and financial losses, the Reason Foundation study concludes."
