The Patriot News reports on an insanely bad idea - taxpayer funded buses, then trains, from Lebanon to Hershey to Harrisburg.
First the study, funded by the transportation industry and conducted by an engineering firm, projects that buses would serve 17,000 riders per day - about four times what Capital Area Transit serves now (I'm assuming the daily rides are one-way, rather than round trip, if not, then only twice current ridership), and the annual cost would be $4.3 milllion ... one-fourth CAT's current costs. Doesn't seem too realistic.
Then they recommend building a new rail line - with a $267 million up-front cost, or $191,000 per estimated riders (then a $12,000 per-rider annual cost). Couldn't there be a less expensive way to travel ... like giving rides on Airwolf?
Cost Per Rider | ||
Bus | Rail | |
Initial Cost | $5,000 | $190,714 |
Annual Cost | $2,529 | $12,357 |