AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies - Government Failure in Urban Transportation

Excerpt: "Public transit's long-run growth in capacity and decline in patronage have helped create deficits that are a serious drain on the public purse. By 1997, trainsit operating expenses in the United States were about $19 billion a year, almost twice the yearly $10.6 billion operating revenues."

Georgia Public Policy Foundation - The Truth about Transit-Oriented Development

Excerpt: "A poll conducted by National Family Opinion found that 82 percent of Americans say they aspire to live in a single-family home in the suburbs, and only 18 percent want to live in cities close to work, shopping and transit. Certainly, people do not move to Atlanta’s wide-open spaces so they can live in Brooklyn-style neighborhoods."

The Heartland Institute - Where Rail Transit Works, and Why

Excerpt: "From Seattle to Atlanta to Sioux City, federal largesse has generated an intense debate about whether urban rail 'works.' For those who believe the standard should be traffic reduction, the answer is a clear 'no.' To the 'railigious,' however, it seems sufficient that the new trains operate--their mere moving from station to station is enough."

Heritage Foundation - Obfuscation Doesn't Change the Facts: Rail Transit is Unreasonably Expensive

Excerpt: "The Federal Transit Administration reported in 2000 that each new trip on the Hiawatha light rail line in Minneapolis would cost a projected $18.57—and this was before the cost of the line escalated more than 50 percent. Using the pre-escalation number, the cost for each new annual commuter using the line two ways each work day (for 450 trips each year) would be approximately $8,400—or about $2,100 more than the cost to lease a BMW luxury SUV for the year."

Heritage Foundation - How States Can Reduce Congestion Through Performance-Based Transportation Programs

Excerpt: "Among the several performance plans imple­mented to date, the most direct is that of Texas, where the state DOT is mandated to reduce conges­tion in the state's metropolitan areas by 50 percent in 25 years. The Georgia legislature adopted a sim­ilar plan, requiring its DOT to reduce Atlanta's TTI to 1.35 over the next several years. By holding public officials responsible for achieving quantitative goals within a specified time span, state DOTs have a powerful incentive to spend their limited resources efficiently on projects that have the maximum im­pact in reducing congestion and improving mobility."