It
’s just this simple: The Valley Transportation Authority can’t
afford to build BART to San Jose. The 16.3-mile construction
project will be bankrupt by 2009 and be in a $1.9-billion hole by
2013, according to a report by VTA Chief Financial Officer Scott
Buher.
It’s just this simple: The Valley Transportation Authority can’t afford to build BART to San Jose. The 16.3-mile construction project will be bankrupt by 2009 and be in a $1.9-billion hole by 2013, according to a report by VTA Chief Financial Officer Scott Buher.
Given that the rosy economic forecasts used to sell voters the 30-year half-cent sales tax measure that was to fund a BART to San Jose extension – along with many other public transportation projects – have turned decidedly more realistic in the wake of the dot-com bust, the only sensible course is to heed County Supervisor Don Gage’s advice.
“I think we’ve got to get the most value for our dollar and move the most people, and that’s not necessarily BART,” Gage said. “There may be some projects that are cheaper that we’re going to go with.”
As Margaret Okuzumi of the BayRail Alliance has pointed out, even if every penny of Measure A tax revenues were devoted to BART, VTA couldn’t build BART in a reasonable time frame. But those revenues were also supposed to pay for Caltrain and Light Rail improvements, not just BART.
There’s no guarantee commuters will embrace a BART line between San Jose and the East Bay. After all, ridership on the new BART extension to the San Francisco International Airport turned out to be far below expectations. Ridership is 40 percent below projections, forcing administrators to cut parking fees in a desperate attempt to boost ridership.
But if the BART extension was reduced or eliminated, the VTA would have plenty of money to extend, electrify and improve Caltrain, a public transit system that is already well-established, well-run and embraced by commuters.
As for BART advocates’ arguments, we absolutely reject outgoing Gilroy Mayor and outgoing VTA Director Tom Springer’s contention that eliminating BART means “you practically guarantee that jobs go over to the Central Valley.”
And those, including San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and others, who would simply wish away the economic realities and fantasize that they go-go days of the dot-com boom are about to make a comeback need to come back to earth. The money’s not there – we can’t afford to build BART to San Jose without generating billions of dollars of red ink in capital expenses, to say nothing of the size of the operating deficit it’s likely to spawn.
Yes, it would be nice to have BART service in San Jose, but BART is not a panacea; it won’t improve already heavily utilized Caltrain service, and it does little for residents in the northern, southern and western parts of this county – all of whom will be paying the half-cent sales tax for the next 30 years.
If the goal of the VTA is to reduce the number of cars on the road and increase usage of public transportation, then BART looks like a poor investment. Let’s look at where the growth is – South Santa Clara County and San Benito County – and where those commuters are trying to go – jobs in San Jose and on the Peninsula – and let’s give those commuters some real public transportation options.
South County currently has only one track to San Jose, and not nearly enough trains to give commuters sufficient flexibility to get to and from work. Despite these shortcomings, Caltrain to South County is heavily used.
Let’s get more trains, add tracks and improve the service on the already accepted and well-used Caltrain in South County, where thousands of commuters are trying to get to jobs in Silicon Valley. Let’s not waste millions of dollars trying to get San Jose residents to the East Bay.
And given the chilly reception BART to SFO has received, improving a well-used public transportation system is a more cost-effective plan with higher odds for success than forcing BART on a limited number of commuters.
Voters need leaders who will make wise financial decisions on projects that will benefit the greatest number of constituents. Clearly, BART to San Jose doesn’t fit that bill. Despite its ‘pet project’ status with many politicians and lobbyists in San Jose, BART to San Jose is a boondoggle waiting to happen.
In these tight economic times, especially, let’s invest our scarce public transportation dollars in project that have lower cost and higher odds for success.
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