Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) suffers from numerous problems that can be traced back to its rail construction projects.
Those who hoped to save energy or reduce greenhouse gas emissions by getting people out of their cars and onto transit are doomed to disappointment.
“we only get one shot at spending these dollars, and lawmakers simply missed the mark, especially given that this is going to be the plan for these dollars for the foreseeable future.”–Denver Post Editorial Board
Facilitating transit ridership is a good thing, and RTD and local municipalities need to do more of it. But the task should be pursued with an appreciation that cars are here to stay as the mainstay of mobility.
Not only does Denver have the highest one-way fares of any major city in the country, the system’s operating budget has ballooned by 46% since 2014 and 81% since 2010.
The March data show all major forms of transit are declining: buses, commuter rail, light rail, and heavy rail.
“One of the things a lot of folks don’t realize is that in Colorado for the last several years the majority of the legislation that passes, passes with bipartisan support,” Rep. Matt Gray, D-Broomfield.
The good news is Mayor Hancock is shocked to learn that the city’s pro-transit, anti-auto policies haven’t worked. The bad news is that his response is to double-down on those policies.
Ending New Starts would save taxpayers billions of dollars a year, plus relieve local governments of the obligations to operate and maintain obsolete transit lines.
For most Americans, transit doesn’t serve the complexity of most of their adult lives.
Carrying large packages, suitcases, or shopping bags on transit is awkward at best and impossible at worst.
Rather than maintain transit systems in a state of good repair, the transit industry has chosen to build more transit lines that it can’t afford to maintain.
