Speaking of Transporation: Prop 1

I think I’m going to end up voting for Prop 1. The sales tax increase kills me. I hate it. Loathe it. But I really believe increasing mass transit options has got to be Priority 1.

Whatever the cost, I know that building it now will be cheaper than building it later. If there are any facts about Prop 1 I know for sure it’s that one. The property will be more expensive to buy … the labor more expensive to hire … and the need will be greater.

I think one analogy that is useful for thinking about light rail and mass transit is that of e-mail. The first person who had e-mail didn’t have much use for it. But it was more useful after the second person had it, and much more useful after 100 people were on e-mail.

Transit is much the same. The investment of billions of dollars in light rail is one thing. But each and every dollar spent after that is more and more useful because it keeps adding segments and stations and makes the system more and more useful for everyone.

In 1863 the first few miles of the London Underground opened running back and forth between two stations. It now has 253 miles of lines with 257 stations. Each additional mile of line and each additional station leveraged on the money invested 140 years ago.

Labels: Economics, Politics, Tacoma, The Issues, Transit