Free gas, hybrids and subway history: Ramping up, Aug. 26

Go to the fair: It's hard not to appreciate this billboard for the L.A. County Fair, which I think perfectly captures the spirit of an event in which virtually every food item is fried. When someone figures out how to fry Diet Coke, please call me first. I'm from Ohio, after all.

Hybrid tax credits: A very helpful article in the Orlando Sentinel explain which federal tax credits are still available for which vehicles. The Prius' tax credits are long gone, but you can still get a $2,350 credit for the Nissan Altima — if you can find an available car. Sentinel auto editor Steven Cole Smith also points out that SUV hybrids are getting the tax credits, while many vehicles with much better fuel mileage are not.

How the L.A. subway came to be: Transition, a transportation planning journal, has a long piece by freelancer Josh Stephens on the current subway system and its potential expansion. Stephens looks at federal funding trends and finds that money for subways is in short supply, although the potential Wilshire addition meets with an obscure federal funding calculation on cost per passenger hours saved.

— Steve Hymon

Photo credit: Idealogy Advertising

Comments

[J in Pasadena]

Hey Johnny,

Do you think the $7 to $10 billion budget would is better spent constructing the Westside extension like the Gold Line bridge in Chinatown (http://articles.latimes.com/2007/feb/19/local/me-concrete19) or like the Red Line tunnels under Hollywood (http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-california-metro-areas/518858-1.html)?

Give me a break. You people are a joke. Do you work for the MTA? The L.A. subway is nothing but a costly political toy when we can build monorail or some other technology faster, cheaper and better.

Really, why after all the cost overruns, corruption and safety oversights do you people still get aroused by the subway? Please don't accuse me of being a conservative proxy. Waxman and Hayden were against it because it became a travesty, and it is a really, really bad idea. Tell me why the MTA refuses steadfastly to look at any other alternatives!

[johnny]

Dana, while I do appreciate your efforts, I'm afraid I'm still in support of the line. So far the only education I've received is: "There's no way, but no way, that the feds will chip in so much as a dime for subway construction." While i am aware that both the state and federal governments are in trouble financially, I don't think it is necessary to assume zero federal funding, especially if the incoming administration is rail-friendly.

But even then, the funds will not come easily. I'm not naive enough to assume that an extra $3 billion will just appear. However, I find that both the practicalities and the implications of a Pink Line are compelling reasons for its inclusion in a Westside subway proposal. As I have demonstrated in an earlier post, there is reason to distrust Metro's data regarding a "combined" subway option; at the very least, a more thorough study is needed. Furthermore, the cost of waiting on construction of this line will greatly increase the cost of implementing it in the future, whereas building it now will be a forward thinking way of accommodating development on an already bustling corridor.

But the benefits of a pink line are not just measured in dollars and cents - just as important is the shift from the status quo the Pink Line represents. Whereas a Wilshire-only expansion furthers Metro rail's current system, a smattering of lines all of which are geared toward moving people to and from downtown, the addition of a pink line represents a move towards a truly integrated rail network. Transit would finally cease to be an oddity and become an integral part of getting around. Plus, the connectivity afforded by a Pink Line increases the effectiveness of other lines by an order of magnitude, with implications far beyond the Westside "study area".

As I have said before, I am not naive about the difficulty of finding federal funds. I also recognize that the Purple line will be a necessary prerequisite to the construction of a Purple Line. If it is demonstrated to me that support for the Pink Line would decisively jeopardize federal funding for the Purple Line, I will withdraw my support. So far this has not been the case. Then again, maybe I just need a little more education.

Sometimes, the perfect is the enemy of the good. Other times, the good is the enemy of the better. In this case, the latter is true. Federal funding for this project will not come easily, but good things seldom do.

[Dana Gabbard]

Steve, don't forget that for those who want to avoid using the car to get to the fair (therefore saving on gas and parking) transit options exist that are quite convenient, including Metrolink (a special stop near the fairgrounds) and Foothill route 197 bus service:

http://www.metrolinktrains.com/news/?id=2921
http://www.foothilltransit.org/busSchedule.aspx?busNumber=197

Josh Stephens used to edit the Metro Investment Report so I'm sure he knows wherof he speaks. The dictates of the federal guidelines are why I have been trying to educate the wetside booster types why zigzags, extra connecting lines, etc. are dangerous distractions for this current study and that we need to concentrate on the Wilshire Corridor (i.e. alternative #1).