On the fast track to disaster

While we are very supportive of alternative solutions to our transportation needs in the Commonwealth, as we noted in yesterday's post, some solutions are certainly better than others.

Solutions that can't deliver and end up costing taxpayers far more than they should are never good ideas, as evidenced by the Reason Foundation's latest study of California's venture into high-speed rail.

From the press release: California's High-Speed Rail System Will Cost Tens of Billions More Than Estimated, Adding to State Deficit, Reason notes:

The high-speed rail system will cost tens of billions more than advertised and ridership numbers will be much lower than predicted, according to a due diligence report on the California High-Speed Rail Authority's plans.

Yikes! Tens of billions more?? That's no small change, even for California!

"The current high-speed rail plan is a fairy tale," said Adrian Moore, Ph.D., vice president of research at Reason Foundation and the study's project director. "The proposal suggests these high-speed trains will be the fastest ever; the most-ridden ever; the cheapest ever; and will convince millions of Californians they no longer need to drive or fly. Offering up a best-case scenario is one thing, but actually depending on all of these miracles to happen simultaneously is irresponsible public policy."

Fairy tales might make good bedtime stories, but they rarely make good public policy.

Click here to read the full report.

View the brief on just how big a financial boondoggle this may be here.