The Tax Foundation Responds to the Antiplanner
Last Thursday, January 17, the Tax Foundation (TF) issued a paper arguing that only 32 percent of state and local highway costs were paid out of user fees, while the remaining costs came from “general funds.” In a post here, I pointed out that, actually, user fees for highways cover 76 percent of the costs […]
Failing the Intelligence Test
Garl Boyd Latham, of the Texas Association of Railroad Passengers, predicts that San Antonians will be “pleased by streetcars once they are running.” His response to the Antiplanner’s op ed critiquing the city’s streetcar plan basically amounts to, “don’t confuse me with the facts; I know what I believe.” To be precise, Latham says, “An […]
Amtrak Shrugged
Watching one of the first showings of part II of Atlas Shrugged was a surrealistic experience after testifying to the House Transportation Committee about Amtrak. In the movie, government officials piously argue that for the “greater good” (a phrase that turned out to be just as deadly in Harry Potter as in Atlas Shrugged) they […]
The Rail Empire Strikes Back
Rail advocates responded to the Antiplanner recent visit to Charlotte, NC, by inviting William Lind, who bills himself as “a conservative who supports rail transit,” to comment on Charlotte’s proposed Red Line project. “Real conservatives like commuter trains,” says Lind. How does he know? Because the average income of people who ride commuter trains in […]
Crushed to Death by Red Tape
The Antiplanner’s friend, Ann Brower, barely survived last February’s earthquake in Christchurch when a building fell on her bus, killing the driver and seven other passengers as well as four pedestrians. Now it turns out that the building had been known to be unsafe for nearly 30 years. The owner wanted to demolish it but […]
Self-Driving Cars in the Pipeline
The hit of last week’s Detroit Auto Show was the 2013 Ford Fusion. This was a surprise because the car was merely a stylistic upgrade of an existing model. The real significance of the Fusion is not the “strong personality” or the fact that Ford will offer both hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, but that […]
2010 Transit Data Update
The Antiplanner has reposted the consolidated spreadsheet for the 2010 National Transit Database. The revision of a file I posted last month fixes an error in the calculation of the total number of seats and standing room provided by each transit agency and mode of travel. More important, the revised file includes some calculations, including […]
Coincidence? Maybe, Maybe Not
Last Friday, December 9, the Detroit News published the Antiplanner’s critique of Detroit’s proposed Woodward light-rail line. On Tuesday, December 13, “the feds, the governor and the mayor” decided that bus-rapid transit makes more sense, so they killed the light-rail plan.
Obamacars to Cost $6,714 More?
Motor Trend magazine reports that meeting President Obama’s fuel-economy standards for 2025 will cost consumers $6,714 more per car. This is based on a paper published by the Center for Automotive Research last June, when Obama’s standards were still in flux. There is some debate over this conclusion: a group called the International Council on […]
America 2050: Forget about the Forgotten Mode
Half truths, innuendo, and pseudo-science form the basis of a recent response to the Antiplanner’s recent paper, Intercity Buses: The Forgotten Mode. The basic thesis of the response is that intercity buses have a role to play in a “balanced transportation system,” but they are “no replacement for high-speed rail.” Of course, the Antiplanner never […]
1.389 Million Lies about Mica Plan
The responses to Representative John Mica’s plan to reduce transportation spending to affordable levels are shrill and bombastic. “1.4 million infrastructure jobs lost due to republican transportation budget short sightedness” claims a Florida newspaper. It’s the “road to ruin” says Oregon Representative (and ranking minority member on the Highways and Transit Subcommittee) Peter Defazio. Many […]
Questions about Intercity Buses
The Antiplanner rarely responds to comments in a post, but Andrew asked many good questions and requested a lot of background information last week. Most of his questions are answered by citations in the report, but since he did not seem to understand those citations, here are my responses. 1. “Intercity buses carry at least […]
