Reply to Virginia Discussing Regional Income Tax For NOVA Transit

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The problem is that others from ROVA also use the transit infrastructure in NoVa. Tons of super commuters that come from RIC area or more rural areas in western VA or WV multiple times per week. [/quote]

The problem is that our transit infrastructure exists to bring jobs to DC. Why should VA fund DC as a jobs center? [/quote]

It is true that this was the original purpose of Metro, in the 1960s and 1970s.

It is also true that it is now 2024, and that there is a lot more transit in northern Virginia than just the 1960s/1970s Metro.[/quote]

[b]Have you seen a metro map?[/b] There are no connections between blue/yellow and orange silver further out than Arlington. It's still a model where routes radiate from DC. If you aren't traveling to or from DC (the majority of NOVA commuters) it's worthless. [/quote]

I sure have. Including the part of it that is a gray line in northern Virginia.[/quote]

An if you live anywhere along the Blue/yellow corridor, you practically have to go to DC to access it. If you live in the very wide gulf in between you get no metro. Why should people who don't live along it pay for it? Let fares fund it and if the ridership volume isn't there, then maybe it doesn't need to exist [/quote]
Exactly. I personally will never support another penny of tax money going to WMATA until I see evidence that they are willing to control costs. All I have seen is that every few years they demand a taxpayer bailout and all I can ever see the funds being used for is pay increases and pensions. The system costs keep going up yet service quality keeps getting worse.[/quote]

Service is actually much better than it used to be.[/quote]
You must be grading on a curve. Operating costs significantly higher and service levels significantly lower than pre-COVID. Add to that the unpleasantness of the safety issues, particularly persistent drug abuse and prevalent mental health crises and it’s easy to see why rail ridership is about 50% pre-COVID. [/quote]

Have you actually taken Metrorail anywhere any time lately? Also, do you think work-from-home might have an effect on ridership?[/quote]
I take Metro once a week and over 50% of the time someone is smoking weed in a car or a station. About once per month something crazy happens, like the time the unhoused person smoked fentanyl in my car. [/quote]

Metro could probably get half of the lost riders back if they just did basic policing. People might actually want to spend time downtown if MPD did the same. [/quote]

The riders are never coming back. Public transportation sucks. I had to take the public transit today and it was terrible. The weather was bad (cold and raining) and the wind was so strong that it broke my umbrella. No sane person that can afford to do otherwise will tolerate public transit unless it is faster than driving. For 95%+ of people living in NOVA this is not possible. It it much easier and faster to drive unless you live very close (5 minute or less walk) to the metro[/quote]

The other big problem is safety. If you can walk to the metro then the criminals can also walk to your house. Many people are not willing to risk the lives of themselves or their children for the convenience of living near transit. [/quote]

Absolutely! That's why everything within walking distance of Metro is so much cheaper than everything that's far from Metro! It is also well known that criminals  don't have cars, can't get cars, and can't drive![/quote]

Many of them don’t have cars or drive. They get free or subsidized metro passes. There are so many examples of criminals taking the metro on their way to commit crime or as a form of getaway transportation. [/quote]

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