Arizona Republic has a story entitled “Phoenix area bus riders left waiting amid transit cutbacks.” It states: “Today, Valley bus riders will once again have to cope with fewer routes, less-frequent buses and shorter hours as the regional system revamps 50 lines. . . . but for some cities they represent the fourth round of service reductions in two years, with more trims planned in some places.”
Arizona Republic: “Phoenix officials are asking bus riders to consider carpooling, taking a taxi or telecommuting if bus drivers, mechanics, fuelers and cleaners go on strike on Monday. Bus riders are also being asked to be prepared for transit-services reductions from budget cuts, which also take effect Monday.”
Washington Post: “As Washington’s public transit network grows more congested, with Metro projecting ‘unmanageable’ levels of saturation on its rail system by 2020, the phenomenon of people taking up more than their share of space is becoming increasingly touchy.”
Phoenix Business Journal: “The city of Phoenix Public Transit Department will be ending all same-day scheduled ‘demand’ trips on Phoenix Dial-a-Ride as part of the state of Arizona’s budget-balancing measures.”
Reason.com: “How has California’s high-speed rail project survived for 14 years without a plan, a budget, or a single accomplishment? . . If you were looking to take some easy shots at government waste and abuse, you’d have a hard time topping California State Auditor Elaine M. Howle’s recent assessment of the Golden State’s 14-year-old high-speed rail project. Since 1996—twice as long as the Transcontinental Railroad took from approval to completion in the 1860s—the bullet train project has cost taxpayers more than $250 million, yet not one millimeter of track has been laid. . . .the bullet train is the centerpiece in President Barack Obama’s national rail plan. . . . the Authority has done no research on the project’s potential revenue, including such no-brainers as an analysis of ridership on existing high-speed trains. the bullet train is a case study in the immortality of a bad idea.
Facts reported in the California State Auditor’s audit: