Comment 118598

By Deleted User (anonymous) | Posted May 16, 2016 at 11:32:57

The major problem is that cost overruns have not been addressed. Calgary's LRT ballooned to $1.5 billion from an original estimate of $700 million. Who will pay the overage when Hamilton's LRT exceeds $2 billion (which it most certainly will.) And we'll have to add a new line to the budget for the life of the system for operation. Since most LRT fares will be subsidized (Mac students and those on social assistance) the line won't be self sufficient. Also, ask yourself this: if Hamilton had $1 billion with no strings attached do you really think our priority would be to put an existing bus route (B-Line) on rails? It's a ridiculous concept overall. And don't forget that funds coming from the province (which is broke) ultimately come from us. It's not like Ontario only collects tax dollars from outside the City. Finally, If we really had any foresight we'd realize that the transportation paradigm is already changing. Autonomous self driving cars (SDC) will be standard by 2024. Private car ownership will be a thing of the past. Collectively owned electric cars will be shuttling passengers around. Scoff if you like, but this system exists today in London. Mac is building SDCs today on Longwood; UBER has a tender out now for 100,000 SDCs; and Apple, Google, Ford, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and GM all expect to release SDCs by 2018. By the completion of the LRT in 2024 it will already be obsolete.

Comment edited by JimC on 2016-05-16 11:45:46

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