While the Rabid Right never misses a chance to complain about rail transit projects, here you see a photo of a real boondoggle, and waste.... While the Rabid Right never misses a chance to complain about rail transit projects, here you see a photo of a real boondoggle, and waste of taxpayer money: the new "High Occupancy Vehicle" lanes just added to LA's San Diego Freeway, the 405, to the ten miles between the 10 and the 101.

First you have to realize two important facts:

1) "High occupancy" has been defined as a mighty two passengers per car for this project (the typical passenger load for a car in the US being 1.2 passengers on average).

2) Despite the motorheads' constant insistence that they "pay for the roads," and so should be able to exclude transit, cyclists, and everyone else from them, in fact, car and fuel fees and taxes never pay for more than 50% of the building and maintenance of any road, and usually much less--meaning that driving is at least as highly subsidized out of general taxes (also paid by cyclists and transit riders) as the most luxurious rail transit project. (See some sample figures from good ol' conservative Texas here.)

Now, this pseudo-HOV lane cost nearly ten billion dollars to build, and stretches ten miles--if I read Metro's document correctly, the $10 billion was for only the northbound lane. (The other was apparently already there.) So nearly $100 million per mile.

A light rail system (let's be frugal now) would cost, on average, $50 million per mile--but that's for two tracks, accommodating two-way traffic. A freeway lane has an effective capacity of about 2,400 passengers per hour--so let's be generous and double that for the pseudo-HOV lane, to 4,800.

A two-track light rail line can carry around 24,000 passengers per hour; that's both ways, so let's cut that in half to 12,000. (Some figures.)

So, nearly three times the throughput at one-quarter the cost per direction. And far less pollution, far less noise, and far less stress for riders (which lowers public health costs)--plus, property values rise around rail transit stations, which improves the economy in general, and tax receipts to cities and counties in particular.

The trains I ride in LA are usually nearly full, even during off-peak hours--I was just on the Gold and the Red lines today (Sunday).

The HOV lanes? Take a look: I made the photograph around 9:30AM on a Friday.

One of these days we need to start making sense in this country.