Re:One-Of-a-Kind Private Train Takes on Florida’s Traffic Ni...
by rayiner on Monday May 21, 2018 @07:49AM
(#17117666)
I think Brightline is a really good thing, if NIMBYIM doesn’t kill it.
As to the government building things: it can’t. For whatever reason our governments in the US are completely unable to build and maintain infrastructure, especially transit. The two best American systems, NYC and DC, are in shambles now after decades of mismanagement. This is not unique to transit: local governments all over the country are poisoning kids through ancient lead water pipes. We are unwilling to spend the money, and when we do, our outrageous public unions and NIMBYism cause things to cost multiples what it costs Europe or Asia.
That’s not true of all governments. (Though, I think you’d be surprised to see that most European countries have a heavier dose of privatization than the US, though less than Japan.) But for whatever reason, maybe some moral deficiency in our body politic, its true of ours. Given that, developing a market solution is a good option. And allowing the transit provider to “tax” both sides of the equation by charging fares as well as rents on surrounding land, is an economically sound way of optimizing the incentive to invest.
As to the government building things: it can’t. For whatever reason our governments in the US are completely unable to build and maintain infrastructure, especially transit. The two best American systems, NYC and DC, are in shambles now after decades of mismanagement. This is not unique to transit: local governments all over the country are poisoning kids through ancient lead water pipes. We are unwilling to spend the money, and when we do, our outrageous public unions and NIMBYism cause things to cost multiples what it costs Europe or Asia.
That’s not true of all governments. (Though, I think you’d be surprised to see that most European countries have a heavier dose of privatization than the US, though less than Japan.) But for whatever reason, maybe some moral deficiency in our body politic, its true of ours. Given that, developing a market solution is a good option. And allowing the transit provider to “tax” both sides of the equation by charging fares as well as rents on surrounding land, is an economically sound way of optimizing the incentive to invest.