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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE
October/November 1999
By Rail, By Sea, By HOV

As part of the visioning process for the Blueprint these past several months, the planners at MTC conducted a "What if?" exercise. What if we added several dozen boats to the region's ferry fleet and criss-crossed the Bay with high-speed water transit service, establishing a dozen or more new docks? What if we were to ring the Bay with rapid rail, extend tracks to the far corners of the region and boost train service across the board? Or, what if the region invested heavily in express buses, using these transportation workhorses to fill gaps in the public transit network and take some of the pressure off overcrowded highways?

With the help of a consultant team, the planners documented and mapped these alternative visions of the future, and over the last several months have been analyzing their relative costs and benefits. Each modal package is being examined for capital and operating costs, potential patronage, impact on traffic congestion, and technical feasibility. Particularly revealing is the annual operating subsidy cost per new transit rider, ranging from a high of $60 per new ferry rider, to $15 per new train rider, to a more modest $4.50 per new express bus rider.

In addition to looking at new and expanded forms of public transit, planners have been evaluating selected highway improvements and an "other" category that is a catchall for unfunded maintenance and seismic safety projects, operational projects to smooth traffic flows, trails, and the like. While the modal analysis will help the region set its priorities, the Blueprint for the 21st Century final report is likely to take a blended approach, culling the most promising projects from each modal package to create a vision of the future that is financially and technically feasible--and that will win the support of the electorate.

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