Funding it! SoCal-NoCal bullet train and the Subway to the Sea

Where does all the transportation money go? Freeways and stuff, apparently. Actually, Cali's transportation money often gets diverted into the general fund, which could be part of the problem. But in any case, the public transit projects everyone seems to want are always in jeopardy because of lack of funds:

>> Money to create the Subway to the Sea is -- not there yet. Elected officials are considering everything from repealing the 1998 voters' prohibition on using local sales tax money for subway tunneling, instituting a half-penny sales tax hike that would raise about $500 million a year for transit projects, and forging a partnership with private firms.

And yes, people want the subway to the sea. Don't we all want to get from downtown L.A. to the beach in 35 minutes for under a couple of bucks without fighting traffic or paying for parking?

>> Money for the bullet train from L.A. to San Francisco is -- not there yet. To fund the $30-billion Anaheim-to-San Francisco line, officials are planning 1) a $10-billion state bond issue on the November ballot next year for seed money, 2. federal matching funds (if the bond issue passes), then 3) private investment, via the public-private partnerships Schwarzenegger's been promoting.

A couple of days ago, my high school friend Melvin, who now lives in San Francisco but planned to come down to L.A. for the holidays, wrote me: "when they gonna build that high-speed train from norcal to socal?!" My answer is: When they have the money, which unfortunately doesn't sound like anytime soon but fortunately voters have some control over. Vote for public transit!

Image courtesy of Metro