Transportation
Silicon Valley Can't Get Transit Right
Less than 1 percent of Santa Clara County residents ride VTA light rail, and taxpayers subsidize 85 percent of the operating costs.
Light rail recently celebrated its 25th anniversary in Silicon Valley, but most people in the area were probably too busy driving to celebrate. Mike Rosenberg of the Mercury News reports that the system, run by the Valley Transportation Authority, is among the country's worst by just about every common metric of success.
To wit: Less than 1 percent of Santa Clara County residents ride VTA light rail; the per-passenger round-trip operating cost is $11.74 and taxpayers subsidize 85 percent of costs — third and second worst in the country, respectively. There are problems with measuring costs per passenger mile on light rail, but ouch.