3,000 daily riders does *not* imply 3,000 riders each paying $50 per month. It’s almost certain that the number of people paying for a monthly pass far exceeds the number of daily users. And that many users pay daily rates, which are higher than the monthly rates.

I’d “conservatively” guesstimate that revenues are 2-3X higher than your estimate.

As for drunks, would you rather they crash into you on the highway? Drunk in public is a crime walking down the street, taking the bus or riding the train. It is not a problem particular to light rail. Almost anybody in SF or NY would tell you that the trains are as safe as anywhere outside. Millions of people commute for work and fun daily using these systems as well as those in Portland, Denver, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston and soon Seattle. Is this a list of cities that are thriving in America or cities that are suffering?

Costs _who_ 50 dollars a month. (Hint: If she used honest accounting, I suspect that she would find that _she_ pays considerably more that that. Even if she doesn’t buy a ticket.

And how much does her ride cost the poor sods that can’t use her fancy ride?

Costs _who_ 50 dollars a month. (Hint: If she used honest accounting, I suspect that she would find that _she_ pays considerably more that that. Even if she doesn’t buy a ticket.

And how much does her ride cost the poor sods that can’t use her fancy ride?

“Trains don’t save fuel and don’t pollute less. Not in this universe, anyway. Simple physics will show you why.”

Having worked with railroads, and knowing their economics in gruesome detail, I can assure you that given the right logistical characteristics, there is absolutely no technology more energy efficient (including less polluting) than steel wheels on steel rails on a gentle grade serving a well-designed network. The problem is that the current network, even in the most densely populated areas like the Northeast and Chicago, is the result of horrendously non-market influences operating through most of the last century.

“People *want* to live in suburbs. Living in suburbs is the free market in action.”

That’s a joke, right? Our suburbs are a product of the bureaucratic, centrally planned system that is our nation’s roadways. You can argue that the roads are paid for by taxes, but you can’t be serious that this is the product of the free market.

The “death spiral” theory of Metra’s economics is likely misplaced. Metra is up against politicized fares and routing choices, not to mention a transit union that effectively chokes off any possibility of productivity improvements.

It’s probably too late for passenger rail in this country. But no one can call the road system we have the product of the “free market.” Notwithstanding all the rhetoric here, no one knows what our nation’s transportation system would look like if the market really had been free to operate since the late 1800s.

We have two. The MAX is the main one. It has 4 branches so far and downtown is all torn to pieces for the fifth one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAX_Light_Rail
I don’t know much about its funding but I can say that I heard from a fare inspector that 25% of its ridership does not pay. That means, of course, people are riding it for free outside of fareless square. I have mixed emotions about it because taxpayers are funding it, but non-tax payers (the homeless living in or near downtown) don’t have to pay to ride it within fareless square, but commuters trying to get to and from work typically outside of downtown (since much of downtown living is for section 8, or others just walk) have to pay the fare to ride it too. It makes prosperous people feel like they have to pay twice to use it while peddlers can ride for free.
Here’s an interesting PDF on MAX ridership statistics. Looks like about 33 million people rode it in 2006, so if 25% of them didn’t pay its an almost $16 million loss (if you average the cost of the ticket between the two regular adult rates).

The same issues arise with the Portland Streetcar, our other light rail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Streetcar
That wiki actually states that the initial build cost was 57 million in “local costs” (taxes, I can only guess) and 5 million from the Fed Govt (more taxes…). The cool thing about the Streetcar is that all its stations are sponsored, so it can help offset some cost. But like the MAX, you are likely to run into drunken bums or extreme overcrowding during “rush hour” times (though nothing like the Tube or the Subway, however you also do not get people who can’t pay riding those).

Someone else mentioned the disease factor. Yes. My coworkers frequently tell me how they had to evacuate because a deranged bum threw up so the driver kicked everyone off, or I have witnessed someone (crazy) spitting on the doors and hand railings. Often the trains smell of urine, too. Portland is a very liberal place though—they LOVE their light rail, regardless of its cost on the city’s inhabitants or currently how downtown is partly an unnavigable mess for the new track being laid and that roads in major need of repair go unnoticed while they will fund what many believe is a superfluous new line. (I also cannot imagine what a pain it would cause if they go forward with the East Side expansion…I hope I don’t live here then.)

Also, as an aside…Portland was always known for its streetcars. In fact, the entire city is covered with remnants of track that has been either torn up or paved over. Most historical photos show tracks on all the streets. It’s a long history.

With a private business, we can generally assume that prices are set to maximize profit. But not so with Metra. It’s quite possible that net operating profit would increase if prices were raised. But that’s the point–because Metra is paid for an operated by the government, we don’t know what price would be commanded in the free market. See http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/crovelli4.html

( This is sort of like the Laffer curve: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve
Do you think lowering Metra rates would increase profit because it would increase ridership? )