Metro Rail Project in L.A.
The wisdom of spending $3.3 billion dollars for an 18.6-mile Metro Rail system (at $177 million per mile) completely escapes me.
If Metro Rail attracts 100,000 riders a day, and they all pay a $1 fare it will take 93 years to recover the estimated cost of construction. Being realistic we can assume that the actual cost of construction will be much higher than $3.3 billion and conversely, the benefits much less, i.e., less than 100,000 riders a day with a fare higher than $1.
Once the yearly operating costs are included, and they will be in the millions, the only certainty about this project will be the constant influx of our tax dollars necessary to keep Metro Rail running.
Only government bureaucrats and their associated sycophants can contemplate such extravagant expenditures because only government can tap the pockets of the people without regard for the product given in return.
I look forward to boarding the Metro Rail at Bradley Station for Yaroslavsky Station, hoping the ride is worth it.
FRANK ERBEZNIK
Camarillo
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