Transit Savvy Denver
Denver Business Journal:
RTD's ride into the future: 2016 is a big year for Denver transit (Regional Transit District)
April 18, 2016
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/b...e-into-the-future-2016-is-a-big-year-for.html
Here is what Denver is accomplishing:
"FasTracks is the name for Denver’s ambitious, multibillion-dollar transit construction project that’s a one-of-a-kind in the United States".
"The plan calls for building 122 miles of new passenger rail lines throughout metro Denver, plus 18 miles of bus rapid transit infrastructure, and 21,000 new parking spaces at rail and bus stations".
"To date, RTD has about $5.5 billion worth of FasTracks projects either completed, under construction or under contract. An additional $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion worth of work is needed to complete the vision, according to RTD officials".
Governor Baker has asked the MBTA to find other sources for funding.
Here's Denver's funding sources:
"With businesses backing a $3.6 million “FasTracks Yes!” campaign in 2004, Denver-area voters approved a special 0.4 percent sales tax, or 4 pennies for every $10 spent, to help pay for a sprawling network of new rail lines and upgraded bus service".
".... the Great Recession sapped the amount of tax money that rolled in ....
Instead RTD, led by former CEO and General Manager Phil Washington, turned to a new kind of financing arrangement: public-private partnerships. RTD decided to partner with the private sector to design, build, operate, manage and finance a major part of the FasTracks project".
Note that the Colorado legislature was, apparently, not involved with financial backing.
Politicians have no problem spending tax money voters have approved.
Would it be simple enough to mount a sales tax campaign for rail upgrades and extensions in Eastern Massachusetts with businesses such as GE backing it?
The Denver region's remarkable effort makes the MBTA's effort look amateurish.