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mass transit & energy use
With the passage of Proposition 1 in November 2001 election, all taxpayers that reside in the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s jurisdiction are guaranteed the right to vote on any future rail projects that involve public debt. Proposition 3, which was placed on the ballot to halt the existing work of MetroRail was defeated.
In 1988, Houston area voters approved a general plan that included new buses, road improvements and a “system connector.” The connector, however, was not considered as a separate issue, and therefore the vote should be invalidated, according to opponents like “Let the People Vote.”
MetroRail has had problems as early as five years after Metro was created in 1978. A referendum in June 1983 that concerned new Metro rail plans was voted down. The 1988 approval was quickly followed by the election of former Mayor Bob Lanier, who ran an anti-rail campaign. In 1991, U.S. Rep. Tom Delay, R-TX, moved to kill $65 million in federal funding for Metro’s light rail project.
Today, Metro is solely funded by its own revenues, according to MetroRail representative Earnest True. The project is only about a third of the 23.4 mile-long original plan, which would have run from downtown to the Texas Medical Center and to Greenway Plaza and The Galleria, but Metro’s expenses are still significant.
Metro unanimously passed its 2002 budget in September, but the agency plans to use some of its reserve funding to compensate for expected revenues that cannot cover the cost of MetroRail and other Metro improvement costs.
An increase in fare has not been necessary thus far, but True admitted that he wasn’t sure if by 2004, the projected completion date of MetroRail, Metro would need to increase fares from the current $2 daily pass.
“We’ve tapped into quite a bit of our reserves already, so this calls for creative financing,” True said.
MetroRail has begun constructing the 7.5 mile-long rail line, which will run from the Astrodome through the Texas Medical Center and to downtown. Gilda Ramirez of Metro’s Community Outreach and Development Department said MetroRail is a “good amenity.”
It will displace 1200 bus trips, improve transit schedules and improve the air quality of that area because of the decrease in buses’ emissions, according to True.
Metro also has plans of improving the framework for further transit development over the next 25 years and will be holding its first public hearing for “Metro Mobility 2025” on Thursday, Dec. 6.
© Copyright World Internet News 2006-07
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