transit

RALEIGH — A revamped North Carolina transportation program should include merit-based project selection, an increased emphasis on road maintenance, and a funding solution for Interstate 95. Those are among the…

The draft Wake County Transit Plan, released in November 2011, proposes a doubling of bus service, new commuter rail service between East Garner and Durham, and light rail service between Cary and northeast Raleigh. The expanded service is proposed to be funded by a 1⁄2-cent sales tax, a $10 increase in vehicle registration fees, increased vehicle rental fees, transit bonds, state and federal funds, and rider fares. The estimated cost of the expanded bus and commuter rail plan is $2.8 B, and the full plan (including light rail) $4.6 billion through 2040.

RALEIGH — Wake County’s transit plan is neither technically nor financially feasible, and it’s unreliable as the basis for decisions regarding transit investment in Wake County. A new John Locke…

North Carolina highway users are subsidizing other programs at the rate of slightly more than a penny per passenger mile. The total cost of driving in North Carolina is no more than 22 cents per passenger mile. By comparison, the state average cost of public transit is $1.15 per passenger mile, nearly $1 of which is subsidized by non-transit users. Driving is more energy efficient and produces less carbon emissions than almost any transit system in North Carolina.

RALEIGH — Public transit costs much more money than driving, and North Carolina transit systems require huge subsidies to attract any riders at all. A leading national transportation expert reaches…

RALEIGH — North Carolina would waste taxpayers’ money if it signs on to federal plans for high-speed rail service. That’s the conclusion of a new John Locke Foundation Policy…

Dr. David Hartgen analyzes the Charlotte LYNX Line, finding, among other things, that final LYNX construction costs are about $521.9 million, about 130 percent above the initial estimate ($227 million), operating costs are about $9.22 million/year, and revenues are averaging about 31 percent of operating costs.

RALEIGH — Taxpayers are picking up more than 90 percent of the tab for a lucky few commuters riding Charlotte’s LYNX light-rail line, despite the trains’ limited public benefit for…

RALEIGH – This year’s high-profile Minneapolis bridge disaster exposes North Carolina’s need for new state transportation priorities. That’s the key finding in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report.

The Minneapolis I-35 bridge disaster and the poor condition of North Carolina’s bridges should be a wake-up call for policymakers to set sensible priorities for transportation policy. N.C. has 17,782 bridges, of which 5,082 (29 percent) are deemed deficient by the federal government. N.C. ranks 32nd in the nation in percentage of deficient bridges — 10th worst in total number of deficient bridges.