The other day we learned about a new city fiction to move part of the debt relating to the new rapid transportation system over to Sun Metro where it would be “self supporting”.
Let’s look.
The Sun Metro site tells us that their fares go as high as $1.50 for regular passengers, fall to $1.00 for military, retired military, spouses of either military group, students, and children aged 6 to 18. Children 5 and under ride for free and senior citizens (65 and older) pay 30 cents. Transfers are free to all passengers.
The numbers from the 2012 national transit database show Sun Metro’s costs to be $2.82 per un-linked passenger trip. They use un-linked to mean every time someone boards a bus — getting on one bus and subsequently transferring to another is two un-linked trips.
Make it up in volume
Most private citizens and I venture to guess some governmental accountants can see that we lose money on each trip.
In fact the 2012 report shows that fare revenues accounted for 17% of what they spent for operating costs that year. Local funds paid for 63% and federal assistance for 20%.
Capital expenses saw no contribution from fare revenues and 44% from local funds and 56% in federal assistance.
In fact the reports shows that local funds amounted to over $40 million dollars for that one year.
The idea that Sun Metro can “self support” debt is simply fictional.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
FIGURES NEVER LIE and LIARS NEVER FIGURE! Per rider cost can be misleading. The cost to drive from point A to point B is relatively fixed (allowing for a slight variation in fuel economy and wear and tear on the vehicle and infrastructure) but revenue generated (as a percentage of cost) changes dramatically as the number of riders per trip increases.
Perhaps a better indicator of efficiencies is measuring ridership in terms of percentage of capacity per trip. I see far too many busses pass by on a regular basis with only a couple of riders. Will our new and improved super duper BRIO busses continue that trend at a much higher per trip cost?
It was said in an earlier post that churches shouldn’t build parking lots for Easter Sunday. Pray that Sun Metro heeds that advice.
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Fictional? If they are already losing money, the case being made is fraudulent. When executives of a publicly owned company in the private sector manipulate financials or report false numbers, they are prosecuted and often go to jail. I guess the Sarbanes-Oxley rules don’t apply to government financial reporting.
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Ah..the Federal government is using the same math….and the Government is never wrong!
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I NEVER see more than 6-7 riders on any one bus. I see 4-5 different buses every day and actually LOOK.
I see the one bicycle on the front, and less than 6-7 riders.
Buses are important, but they are not used that much.
So, now this planned TROLLEY, . . . . . What overflowing bus will this help out?
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Cortney Niland is “ecstatic beyond words” about the trolley system and declared it to be an economic development that will generate a big return on investment.
“This is how you do it,” she said.
Excuse me while I go throw up.
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I think she said that about the stadium and the only people making money on it are Hunt and Foster. The city pays for everything else, including the severance package for DCMs who call a spade a spade instead of upholding the Niland-Wilson mindf**k that it’s all good:)
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According to the head of Sun Metro, it is funded by Federal money, sales tax and rider fares. I don’t know what business school Carmen attended, but that doesn’t sound like self-supporting to me.
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No one here has ever been to San Francisco and ridden the trolleys??? Anyone aware that people from San Francisco wanted to buy some of our historic cars? The downtown trolley is a very different project than the gigantic Brio buses caper.
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