Reply to Hogan(R) wants to expand highways, selling out to for-profit cos. Does he know about induced demand?

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Reply to "Hogan(R) wants to expand highways, selling out to for-profit cos. Does he know about induced demand?"

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[quote=Anonymous]Sorry, but until you can get the three local jurisdictions to create a dedicated funding source for public transit, induced demand for public transit is going to fail.  You can funnel construction money into public transit, but if you don't have dedicated funding for maintenance, updates and care of the system, then you will have people going into the system when things are cared for, and going out of the system when they are not.  When you have cars that break down, when the rails are not maintained properly, when you have electrical problems that cause repeated outages, when mobility restricted people cannot get to the tracks because elevators are out for months or years, when you don't have the resources to expand parking to accommodate all who want to use the system, all because there is no dedicated funding source to perform necessary maintenance (both short and long-term) then you will never have consistent demand for the public transportation system.

All of the successful public transit systems have a dedicated funding source, whether a jurisdiction-mandated minimum budget, or a tax that is dedicated to the annual line item or a source like gambling that can generate funds that will consistently go into the system.  The three jurisdictions have no set budget for public transit and they vote on allocations annually and sometimes the budgets shrink.  Over the last 30 years, this has happened routinely which is why we had so much deferred maintenance that we ended up with the electrical problems and inspection problems that caused outages and endangered rail riders.  That's why you have bus routes that routinely get cancelled.

Start by working on lobbying local legislators in all three jurisdictions to pass a law mandating a minimum budget line item (like MD has for schools) and a set minimum annual increase to go directly to public transit.  Until you have the guaranteed dedicated funding source, your induced demand will not change the pattern of influx and outflux of ridership to the system.  The continued maintenance of the system has to be ensured before you try to funnel more riders into the system.[/quote]

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