While tripping merrily through the mail, Wes Leatherock was overheard
 WL> The column is devoted to why the private car is more
 WL> efficient for most people, why they prefer using their cars
 WL> to using public transit, and also notes the tremendous subsidy
 WL> paid for public transit.
Here in Beertown the mayor is pushing for a light rail system that is
very short and goes virtually nowhere.  A popular argument is that it's 
needed for people who don't have cars.  The amount of money required
to build and operate it for ONE year will pay for a good used car for
every individual in the county over the age of 16 who doesn't own one.
 WL> An interesting statistic he cites: "U.S. motorists
 WL> pay a heavy price for the comfort and autonomy of car driving.
 WL> In gasoline taxes, auto sales taxes, registration fees, and
 WL> tolls, they cough up some $115 billion a year--far more than
 WL> the $76 billion the government spends to build and maintain
 WL> the roads they drive on."
$39 billion dollars in surplus buys a lot of cars :-)
As I mentioned before, I wish light rail would work, I wish passenger trains
were profitable (some of my most enjoyable moments were on the C&NW "Flambeau
400 {of course a bunch of coeds from St. Norbert's college helped }),
but it's just not economically feasible in this country.
Don
... Sometimes there's no engine pulling my train of thought!
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