Economics of Rail Transit
It is true that public rail transit provides certain benefits for a community. Economists encourage people, in addition to observing benefits, to consider the costs of urban transit as well. They agree the goals of policymakers in this situation are not often met. Some American economists claim that, contrary to popular belief, rail transit has failed to improve the environment, serve the poor, or reduce highway congestion in the United States. Economists, however, are somewhat more optimistic about rail transit's impact on economic development. But as more suburbanization occurs, central business districts decline, and people acquire more wealth a successful rail transit system might become harder to achieve in the future.
According to one analysis, nine out of ten urban rail projects experience cost overrun. The average overrun was 45 percent, measured in constant prices from decision to build to project completion.
Read more about this topic: Urban Rail Transit
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—Jacques Chirac (b. 1932)
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“Old man, it’s four flights up and for what?
Your room is hardly any bigger than your bed.
Puffing as you climb, you are a brown woodcut
stooped over the thin rail and the wornout tread.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
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