End the Pretense of Commuter Rail in Hampton Roads

Yes, let's end this pretense. In fact, let's end this farce, here and now.

Light rail is a good idea gone bad. Perhaps, in retrospect it was a bad idea that will only get worse. From concept to opening, Norfolk's 7-mile commuter rail line has been pitched (spun) as a starter line for commuter rail in the region.

Yet the starter has stalled. Until other cities in the region jump on board and start coughing up some cash, The Tide will ebb.

Others say The Tide is a train to nowhere, yet opine that if it were extended to Virginia Beach it would make sense. The problem with that argument is when and where. 

Virginia Beach and its fine upstanding citizens, mostly conservative and mostly opposed to new taxes and prolific and unbridled spending, have seen Norfolk's attempt to be first and frivolous with money and they are cautious. Rightly so.

No one takes commuter rail seriously. If they did, none of us would be discussing if fares should be lowered from $1.50 to 50 cents.

Yet the tide of subsidies is rising. And some of you want fares slashed?

The Tide opened August, 2011, to much fanfare. In fiscal year 2012, Norfolk's tax payers spent $2.4 million for the operation and maintenance of The Tide. And this year Norfolk's tax payers, courtesy of its government and politicians, will spend $5.25 million for The Tide.

Yet no one complains. No one questions why Norfolk's citizens will have to pay more if fares are slashed. Instead, all we hear is that fares should be lowered to incite demand. The only thing that should be incited is a protest.

One City Council member, whose name will remain anonymous, confided in me that Council deliberately avoided any mention of a referendum on light rail, afraid of the outcome. The reason is obvious: because they knew it wouldn't pass.

Norfolk City Council saw the 1999 referendum in Virginia Beach on light rail fail and they wanted to avoid the same failure and embarrassment. Virginia Beach's 2012 referendum on light rail in 2012 was merely a political smokescreen.

So, Norfolk, here we are, wondering if Virginia Beach will oblige us. Down in happy and boring Chesapeake politicians and citizens are dithering over the possibility of a light rail extension from Greenbrier, a shopper's dream, to Norfolk.

Before you lower fares, let's fix the existing system. Let's get more money into buying buses and ferries and streamlining what exists before we have this debate about lowering fares.

Besides, who benefits from lower fares?

Certainly not Norfolk's tax payers.

See what's happening in Houston, the fourth largest U.S. city. The former home of Enron isn't what you might call public transit friendly; riding a bus is viewed as “a measure of last resort.” 

Concrete is de rigueur for Houston. Returning from my first trip to Houston in the early 90s, I marveled at the similarity of Hampton Roads and Houston – highways, concrete, bridges, the mindless swarm of traffic, and, of course, the heat and humidity.

Unlike here, a group of brave souls wandered into the shark-infested waters of public transit with its political Potsdams. They tackled the problem plaguing every public transit: frequency of service and the population which buses and trains serve.

In the article, Mass Transit Magic, Salon writer Henry Grabar describes “the frequent network” devised by a group of students, traffic consultants and planners from the local transit authority.

They call it “the frequent network.” A bus arriving every 15 minutes (or faster), 15 hours a day, 7 days a week is within ten blocks of 1,126,000 people, as opposed to 534,000 under the existing system. The percentage of current riders within a quarter-mile of frequent service increases to 73 percent, seven days a week, up from 49 percent on weekdays and a measly 25 percent on weekends. Without increasing the system’s operating budget, the plan is expected to boost bus ridership in Houston by 20 percent.

Courage is earned, not given. So, someone, preferably the citizens, should get some moxie and do something besides Ooo-ing and Ah-ing, or put another way, emoting delusional incredulity, at The Tide's empty cars as they journey from somewhere to nowhere and from nowhere back to somewhere.

Or have I got that backwards?