What’s The Real Cost of that MARTA Ride?, by Ernest
Moosa, 2/20/16
MARTA is in the news a lot lately in
Fulton County, as they push for more funds to expand heavy rail, especially in
North Fulton County. We are told of the benefits of MARTA, and one could argue
that there are indeed benefits, especially for those that do not own vehicles.
MARTA is pushing today for a sales tax
increase that would increase their sales tax revenues by 50%. By doing so,
Fulton County will be increasing the subsidies that are given for each MARTA
rider.
But what is the true cost of of this
Mass Transit system today, and where do the funds come from? Is it a positive
or negative expense when it comes to other modes of transport?
Only 22% of MARTA’s funding comes from fares.
Twenty-two per cent of MARTA’s funding
comes from Fare Revenue, 58% from sales tax revenues, and the other 20% from
other sources such as State and Federal government. What would it cost if MARTA
relied entirely on fares, and not on sales tax dollars, and federal and state
dollars?
Using this data, I can make a rough
calculation of just what this trip on MARTA would cost.
“MARTA needs an additional $8.86 to cover the
cost of one trip.”
Let’s take family of four, who have decided
to take a trip to the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke. They would need
to spend $20 in fares to go to those attractions and return. To help cover the
cost of these trips, MARTA today collects an additional $8.86 per trip, or
$70.88, for a total of $90.88.
While that may be a great deal for the
family on that day, is that really a great deal for our society
overall? We must ask ourselves should we spend more than necessary overall
just for the sake of spending it?
The distance from North Springs MARTA
Station (a possible boarding point for our family) is 14.9 miles by vehicle to
the World of Coke, according to Google Maps.
Before gas prices plunged, the estimated
cost to drive a large SUV (insurance, taxes, gas, etc) was 75.7 cents per mile.
It’s much cheaper now to fuel up, even at the higher price per mile, it’s
still cheaper.
Therefore the distance to and
from our destinations would be 30 miles. The cost would be around $22.71 plus
parking. Splurge on parking for $15 dollars and the trip costs $37.71. More
than $53 less expensive than mass transit.
“Are We Better Off In The End?”
Is our society better off by having a
family of four taking mass transit for a total real cost of $90.88, or taking
their own vehicle for a cost of $37.71?
The other $53.17 must come from
somewhere. Where that somewhere is can be debated. Taken from your pockets
every time you spend a dollar, taken from your tax returns at both the federal
and state levels, taken from your future earnings as we pay off the ever
increasing federal debt, it will be taken.
Here is one of the major shortcomings
of Mass Transit and why it fails to compete with personal vehicles: In
your own vehicle, the cost per passenger per mile plummets the more passengers
you have. With Mass Transit, your costs increase proportionally.
“There are no economies of scale with Mass
Transit”
For the family of four the cost per
passenger for this trip is $37.71 divided by 4, or $9.42 per passenger. Add
another passenger and it would only be $7.52. Add another passenger on Mass
Transit and you will spend 20% more on fares.
I’d argue no, our society is NOT better
off. We’d be better off if every family was able to keep as much of their
earned income as possible and spend it in a manner that they chose.
Imagine for a second that MARTA did not
exist. There would be a lot more money in the pockets of everyone in Atlanta.
Money they could spend on dining, retail, health care, entertainment and
other choices.
It’s my belief that we need our elected
officials to look at the true total costs of any project or service that they
promote, and are asking their constituents to fund. It’s also inappropriate to
look at a project and say it’s costing us less because we are getting Federal
and State dollars to offset the costs. Unless you are exempt from federal
and state taxes, you (or your children in the future) will be paying for the
entire costs. There is no free ride.
I’ll leave you to think about that
choice. Then share with me your thoughts. I’d love to know whether or not you
still think MARTA is SMARTA after all?
Comments
The worse part of
MARTA was the $billions of dollars in taxpayer money that was spent on the
construction and expansion of the MARTA system. These costs have quadrupled and
further expansion is not worth the cost. Ridership will never increase enough
to cover operating, security and maintenance expenses. It’s a sand hole. The
bus services needs to be privatized.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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