Rail Runner to Socorro (Santa Fe, Rio Rancho: appointed, leases, how much)

[Greenmon]

Common, i hope Y'all are fighting that Toll Road Biz, then letting some foreign entity take it over and kick back to Promoters ! They are doing this in Texas. Where is the American Backbone to protest these wild schemes that will not return to normalcy . My Wife wants to move to NM , i am game, but with this news i must reconsider , she will not be happy about this either. I hope New Mexicans will fight this Toll Road thing, it messes with tourism too.Maybe NM can receive some FED FUNDS.

[Sixx Foot Three]

Originally Posted by Greenmon

Common, i hope Y'all are fighting that Toll Road Biz, then letting some foreign entity take it over and kick back to Promoters ! They are doing this in Texas. Where is the American Backbone to protest these wild schemes that will not return to normalcy . My Wife wants to move to NM , i am game, but with this news i must reconsider , she will not be happy about this either. I hope New Mexicans will fight this Toll Road thing, it messes with tourism too.Maybe NM can receive some FED FUNDS.

Greenmon.....well the legislature would have to approve of it in the next session and i really don't see them doing that as we are a very Rural state.

They may raise the Gas Tax or they may just postpone or scrap construction projects all together They've already have postponed and will postpone freeway projects here in ABQ......

[mortimer]

6 FOOT 3 (80's Guru) reported:

> ... ABQ Journal newspaper ... story about ... Railrunner ...

According to the article, the amount of the fare covered by ticket
purchases is less than 15%:

"Currently, only $1.4 million of the $9.5 million in annual operating costs comes from a combination of proceeds from riders' fares and fees "

Here, on the Railrunner page, it shows you can ride from end-to-end
for $3: Tickets - New Mexico Rail Runner Express

That means that it cost the rail system over $20 to carry you, the
rider, from end-to-end.

I also read that the gas tax was lowered by 5 cents to give people
"relief at the pump," but this has the additional effect of cutting
funding for roads. Based on my observations of road quality, this
was short sighted.

[Sixx Foot Three]

Originally Posted by mortimer

I also read that the gas tax was lowered by 5 cents to give people
"relief at the pump," but this has the additional effect of cutting
funding for roads. Based on my observations of road quality, this
was short sighted.

Interesting.....i was listening to 770 KKOB today to the Bob Clark Show who was talking about this very subject and someone called in and asked that very question that you posted about the gas tax lowered by 5 cents ...Was that you calling in on the radio Mortimer....lol....

[mortimer]

6 FOOT 3 (80's Guru) wondered:

> Interesting.....i was listening to 770 KKOB today ..
> ...Was that you calling in on the radio Mortimer.... lol....

It was not me. You'll know it's me if the caller says something
like "as far as I'm concerned, they can raise it 50-cents/gallon."

Greenmon warned:

> ... i hope Y'all are fighting that Toll Road Biz, ...
> ... They are doing this in Texas.

My experience in TX is with the Sam Houston freeway (Beltway 8).
I loved it; High quality roads with little traffic (due to the toll).
People don't just jump on the freeway to go 'one exit down' so
the driving experience was much better. That's just my experience.

If it takes a toll road to get three lanes each way from Belen to
Santa Fe, I'm all for it.

[Zoidberg]

I'm happy to live in a place without toll roads. I hope it stays that way.

For every 50 cents more per gallon in taxes, I bet there's 10% fewer cars on the road. I'll blow an extra $2 per day in gas to get to work faster. The people who can least afford to drive are usually the ones going 20 under or failing to notice when the light turns green.

[mortimer]

Zoidberg grumbled:

> I'm happy to live in a place without toll roads. ...

I would guess that you are in the majority there.

> For every 50 cents more per gallon in taxes,
> I bet there's 10% fewer cars on the road.

I doubt it, but I wish.

> I'll blow an extra $2 per day in gas to get to work faster.

What does this mean? Do you drive like a bat-out-of-hell
to miss a light or two?

> The people who can least afford to drive are usually the ones
> going 20 under or failing to notice when the light turns green.

What does this mean? I guess I understand the bit about driving
55 in a 75 zone to get better mileage. Almost no one gets cited
for impeding traffic. I just don't get the bit about failing to notice
when the light turns green. Those are people screwing around
with their cellphones and not people on a budget. I'm confused.

I might go 20 under if I'm coming to a light that is red and I'm sure
I'm going to have to stop. I consider it a point of pride if when I
finally have to hit the brakes, I'm going under 25 mpg or better; if
the traffic gets going such that I don't have to hit the brakes to
avoid rear-ending the traffic starting up again. I'm assuming that
you're not pissed at such behavior, but some people are.

[katavar]

I may be looking way to far into a future, but what I see is that the interstate system and other highways are breaking down in many places for lack of upkeep and for vastly increased use since they were built. We can go ahead and fix them for the cars that will eventually become useless because of no more oil. Or we can fix them because we need them right now--I drive too of course, almost all of us do. Or we can begin to get really creative about moving about on the planet in ways that do not require individual automobiles carrying often one person each.

We could do both.

Stay centered, be wise, and do what you can. Its our planet, and I love it...especially the little piece of it we are discussing.

[GregW]

I doubt the "Railrunner" would be economically feasible in the Albuquerque corridor. Just not enough people are likely to need the trip.. Hell, we cannot get a commuter rail extended into southern NH from northern Massachusetts. There are about 350+ commuters taking the bus (ugh) from Londonderry to Boston every day and maybe a couple of hundred more carpooling to the industrial belts around Boston.

IMHO with the possible exception of the area within 30 miles of downtown ABU rail commuter transportation is impractical because the population density is just not available. An 1980’s Honda civic coup will deliver about 40 –50 mpg and carry two (friendly) people. Same fuel mileage as a new Hybrid at one-tenth the cost. Hard to beat.

[mortimer]

In the Albuquerque Journal this morning (front page) and on the news
last night, the state of NM is looking for approval to raise $25 million
via a gross receipts tax increase of one eighth-of-a-cent for residents
of the counties where the Rail Runner passes through.

It turns out that although they have the money to build it to Santa Fe,
they don't have the money to operate it after that.

The article says that it now costs $9.5 million to run it from Belen to
Bernalillo - $8 million of that is financed by the federal government.

It seems that the Rail Runner is Light Rail on steroids from a cost standpoint.