Monday, June 20, 2005
Is BART a Good Deal?
San Jose Business Journal | Shedding one San Jose BART station seen as compromise - 2005-06-20:
VTA is the ace of spades up the sleeve of Ron Gonzales and he wants to play it as a means of furthering his own political career. He can do that if he scratches the backs of his business buddies in San Jose, who see BART as a way to attract new customers. The city also sees it as a way to attract new business to the area. Thus more tax revenues for the city.
But there are victims here, which include tax payers, commuters and transit workers. The tax payers will suffer by paying for something they will not be able to use for ten years, if ever. Commuters will suffer because projects being sacraficed now to pay for BART will not be completed. And transit workers, who's livelihoods depend on the good will and good sense of the VTA board, will suffer when their jobs are eliminated to make way for the all-important BART extension--a project that will cost double its original budget, a project that will provide zero traffic relief, a project with no financial backing whatsoever.
Does that sound like a good deal to you?
They'd better, because if past experience is any indicator, the annual cost of building the BART extension by 2016 will be just about $1 billion. They still think the voters will approve their tax plan. Or, at least, they try to convince the public that that is the case. They are hurriedly scrambling around Sacramento trying to convince legislators to give up more money for BART as a means of bolstering public confidence for the upcoming 2006 tax initiative....[T]he Valley Transportation Authority is looking for ways to come up with $1 billion through a combination of taxes and cost cutting.
State funding would help voters stay with us and it would help us obtain additional funding from Congress.But there is little blood to squeeze from that turnip. And the federal government knows the project will not ease traffic congestion, so they aren't going to touch it.
VTA is the ace of spades up the sleeve of Ron Gonzales and he wants to play it as a means of furthering his own political career. He can do that if he scratches the backs of his business buddies in San Jose, who see BART as a way to attract new customers. The city also sees it as a way to attract new business to the area. Thus more tax revenues for the city.
But there are victims here, which include tax payers, commuters and transit workers. The tax payers will suffer by paying for something they will not be able to use for ten years, if ever. Commuters will suffer because projects being sacraficed now to pay for BART will not be completed. And transit workers, who's livelihoods depend on the good will and good sense of the VTA board, will suffer when their jobs are eliminated to make way for the all-important BART extension--a project that will cost double its original budget, a project that will provide zero traffic relief, a project with no financial backing whatsoever.
Does that sound like a good deal to you?
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