Thursday, February 19, 2015

Atlanta Streetcar Boondoggle

The first question is where do you park your car if you want to ride the streetcar.
 
Specifications for tram-style Streetcars may be summarized on the Streetcar Project Executive Summary as follows:
Travel function: Local, with connectivity and distribution to other systems
Market: In-town/urban core
Construction disruption: Minimal/moderate
Potential for economic development: Significant
Passenger capacity per vehicle (projected): 95-110 (standing and seated)
Typical maximum speed: 25-40 mph
Typical average speed: 15-to-20 mph
Power system: Overhead electric/on board electric motors
Guideway: Shared with other traffic on street lanes
Capital costs per mile: $18 million (single-track alignment) to $25 million (double track alignment)
Operating costs per service hour $107.00
Cost per Ride is $1.
Fare revenue with 100 passengers per car at $1 per ride is $100 per car.
If 4 cars are running full, they would generate $400 per day.
If the 4 cars do 4 round-trips a day they would generate $1600 per day.
If operating costs remain at $107 per hour and the 4 cars operate for an 8 hour day, operating cost would be about $800 per car or $3200 per day.
If construction costs are $100 million, amortized over 10 years would be $100 million divided by 3650 days or $2,740 per day plus $3,200 per day operating costs or $6,280 per day. 
If the streetcar has 1600 riders per day, the actual cost per ride is $6280 divided by 1600 riders per day calculates to $3.925 per ride.
The annual taxpayer cost of maintaining this boondoggle would be $6280 cost per day times 365 days a year or $2,292,200 per year if you use my assumptions. 
If Disney did this, they would go broke.  That’s why Disney tickets are $100 per day.
Atlanta needs to figure out whether they are a city or a theme park.
That would mill and resurface 15 miles of two-lane asphalt road.  Which would you prefer ?  We are already paying for empty buses and MARTA trains.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
 

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