At 2007/12/03 12:15, Don L. Leistikow wrote:
>An electric railway operation is less expensive to operate, even though
>the cost to build is higher, due to the fact that once in operation, it
>will last for 40 to 50 years or more, before any major work or
>rebuilding of the rails and wires is necessary. The cost per passenger
>is less to transport and at the same time, will attract more passengers,
>thus reducing the overall cost of operation and leveling the fare
>structure, accordingly.



The following analysis from Light Rail Now is based on data for the
Portland Streetcar, but it may be useful for the Kenosha situation:

Streetcar vs. Bus: Operating cost comparison
http://www.lightrailnow.org/news/n_newslog2006q4.htm#LRT_20061112

The critical thing is to compare like with like. Compare a
circulatory streetcar with a circulatory bus - not systemwide bus
services, which accrue much higher passenger-mileage. Any circulator
system is slower and tends to attract far shorter passenger trips,
resulting in a much lower aberage trip length and much lower
passenger-mileage - thus O&M cost per passenger-mile is higher than
for a general-service or commuter-type service.

And of course, Don is absolutely right on the issue of life-cycle costs.

I don't know what Kenosha mayoral candidate Moran has in mind as an
alternative investment of Kenosha's streetcar funds - I suspect
highway investments for private motor vehicles - but several things
should be pointed out.

* Streetcar is eligible for federal transit funding, an entirely
different "pot" of fed funding for the city - roads are eligible for
FHWA (and Wisconsin DOT) funding. Ending or reducing streetcar
funding will shut off an entire channel of potential federal funding.

* You'd get far more "bang for the buck" with investment in
streetcar. If the City of Kenosha transferred those funds to, say, a
freeway project, it would be a tiny dollop. For the streetcar, it
would have a much larger impact.

* The streetcar REMOVES traffic from Kenosha streets; alternative
roadway investment ENCOURAGES more traffic on Kenosha streets.

Hope these ideas help - LH