The Senate passed a $13 rental car fee increase to pay for the KRM commuter rail extension from Kenosha to Milwaukee.
The fee increase was included in a $5.5 billion two-year transportation budget, which included a new tax on oil companies. Because of a political fight over the oil tax, the transportation bill was broken out of the state budget.
The Assembly now needs to pass the transportation budget with the KRM funding intact, and the governor needs to sign the bill, for it to become law.
Along with the rental car fee increase, the bill allocated $1 million for the KRM extension, allowed the Regional Transit Authority in charge of KRM to borrow $50 million to build the system, and required the RTA to study extending KRM to the north side of Milwaukee.
The transportation budget passed the Senate 18-14. Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, voted in favor.
The Assembly did not vote on the transportation budget Monday night. It's unclear when they will vote on the bill.
Thank goodness this failed.
ReplyDeleteDustin have you ever really looked at this?
1.4 million projected riders...
The current (successful Hiawatha has about 500,000)
Based on the projected 14 trains on weekdays, 7 on weekends that rounds out to about 325 riders per train on average.
That figure just meets projections. This also means they will need the 1.4 million riders to be on budget.
Take a ride our to the brand new Amtrak stop and I guarantee you will not see more than 60 or 70 cars.
Now, tell me where are the 4550 riders per day going to come from?
Even at the ridiculous subsidy (what is it 84%?) this thing will require even more taxes than this 650% increase.
When you take a serious look at this plan it simply falls apart.
It is a pipe dream.
It is a panacea for lazy politicians who do not want to take a realistic hard view at the problems facing this community: taxes, jobs, crime, education. They see this train as the fix for all of their economic woes.
KRM is a big worthless WASTE of taxpayer dollars.
I hope the Assembly passes the funding.
ReplyDeleteI take the Metra or Amtrak every day from Kenosha or Sturtevant to Chicago. The trains are PACKED. Amtrak is nearly standing-room only. The parking lot at the Metra station is filled. Hundreds of people pour on and off those trains every day.
People who oppose commuter rail are living in a world of cheap gas, indifference to the environment and empty highways that no longer exists. The most stressful part of my commute is taking the bus from the train station to my office because the streets in Chicago are so clogged with traffic. And have you ever seen the Edens Expressway during rush hour? I have many times, and it's not an pretty sight. The congestion of Chicago is coming to southeastern Wisconsin as more and more businesses and residents flee the high cost of living in northern Illinois. If Wisconsin doesn't improve its public transportation, we're going to be stuck with the same traffic nightmares as Chicago, currently ranked one of the most congested areas in the country.