Tag Archives: public transportation

In which I respond to the towering genius of rude commenter Paul

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This post is a response to a commenter on my earlier post, Public transportation, solution or problem? You can see the original post and the comment in their entirety here: https://gajim.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/public-transportation-solution-or-problem/

 

Commenter: “This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read.”

Response: I felt the same way about Thomas Pynchon’s “Gravity’s Rainbow”. You’ll get over it.

Commenter: ” You say that MARTA is a “drain on Georgia taxpayers.” Are you aware that MARTA is the only large public transit system in North America that does not receive any state funding? This is a completely false and ignorant argument that is used over and over by those opposed to public transportation. MARTA is paid for entirely by ticket income and a 1% sales tax in Fulton and Dekalb counties”

Response:    I am aware that MARTA is funded primarily by a 1% sales tax  levied in Fulton and Dekalb counties. Are you aware that Fulton and Dekalb counties are in the state of Georgia?

Everything a resident of those counties buys costs us 1% more because of the MARTA tax. According to MARTA’s own budget projections that takes about $350,000,000 out of the pockets of Georgia taxpayers. You may believe that a 350 million dollar tax is not a drain on our state’s economy but I respectfully disagree. We have a subjective disagreement and that is okay. Calling my statement “a false and ignorant argument” simply displays your arrogance.

Commenter: “MARTA has already raised fares and reduced service, so the deficit will be reduced.”

Response:  I concede my time to the gentlewoman from MARTA, CEO Beverly Scott, “she would need a one-cent sales tax in the eight metro counties outside the Perimeter, plus 65 percent of an additional penny tax in Fulton and DeKalb just to keep MARTA running as it is”. You can read the entire article in The Beacon here: http://bit.ly/adRoQK 

Is MARTA starting to look like a “drain on Georgia taxpayers” yet?

Enough of this for now. Today is a glorious Saturday morning and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest.

Public transportation: solution or problem?

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The Atlanta Regional Commission and cities in North Fulton County are currently collaborating on a “comprehensive transportation plan” to solve the persistent traffic issues in this part of the world. This is a great idea and I hope that the result of this collaboration will actually be productive but the closer I follow this process the less optimistic I become.

The main reason for my budding pessimism is that it is now clear many business and political leaders are convinced that public transportation will solve this area’s traffic problem. If the people participating in this process don’t understand that public transportation produces inefficient delivery systems then they will never be able to produce a transportation plan which will serve my families and my neighbors well.

I would like to point out an article that was published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2009. The article states that Georgia State University’s  Economic Forecasting Center now predicts that Atlanta’s MARTA public transportation system will suffer losses of more than 1.4 billion dollars over the next decade (emphasis mine). Here is the link so you can read the whole thing:

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/08/10/daily57.html

Ladies and gentlemen 1.4 billion dollars is alot of money, even in today’s world of trillion dollar deficits.  And there is no reason to believe that MARTA’s losses will stop at that point. MARTA is already drain on Georgia’s taxpayers and if we expand a failing system it will be even more expensive.

Right now our state is already facing enormous budget deficits. School systems are facing brutal choices because of the current economy. Do taxpayers really want to expand our financial commitment to a transportation system that has already demonstrated an inability to responsibly serve our needs?

North Fulton residents, business leaders and politicians must now answer this question: Are we going to be responsible for our own transportation solutions or are we going to risk our future on an insolvent bureaucracy that will burden us forever. I hope we choose wisely because the future is at stake.