The Atlanta Journal bemoaned our passing on Federal seed-money to build a Light Rail line from Atlanta to Macon GA. There were also discussions about running a light rail to Charlotte NC. We were correct to pass.
The Greyhound Bus from Atlanta GA to Macon GA costs $25 one way, 89 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes. The Greyhound Bus to Charlotte NC costs $50 one way, 288 miles, 6 hours. The cost for gas, to drive a Prius from Atlanta GA to Macon GA is $6. The cost for gas, to drive a Prius from Atlanta GA to Charlotte NC is $19. The cost of building the light rail system in Seattle was $176 million per mile. The cost of building a light passenger rail system from Atlanta to Macon could be well over $1 billion.
The number of Greyhound Bus tickets from Atlanta GA to Macon GA we could buy with $1 billion is 40 million tickets. If two bus-loads, 80 passengers, bought tickets to go to and from Macon to Atlanta every day, their total daily round-trip cost would be $4000. The $1 billion cost of building a passenger rail service would buy tickets for these 80 passengers for 500,000 trips, or daily round- trips for these 80 passengers for the next 685 years
Shipping freight pods on regular rail is very cost-effective. Cost for light passenger rail is not cost-effective. It requires federal or state subsidies to operate to the tune of $200 per ticket. These 500,000 trips would then cost the state $190 million a year to operate. It’s a Trojan Horse.
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