This earlier post noted that a not very flattering analysis of the economic debacle that is the San Jose, California light rail system might very well describe Houston’s light rail system in a few years if we don’t come to our senses. Following up on those thoughts, this Randal O’Toole post reviews a San Jose Mercury News newspaper article that reports on the state of the San Jose transit system on the 20-year anniversary of light rail there. It’s not a pretty picture:

Santa Clara County taxpayers pay as much or more for transit, yet their transit system carries fewer riders, than almost any system with light rail in the country. ìThe heavy tax commitment to transit,î the article notes, ìmeans fewer dollars for road upgrades.î Especially since a half-cent sales tax that voters approved of for roads was hijacked by the transit agency in 2000. [. . .]
ìThe light-rail system should be considered a 100-year investment,î says San Joseís director of transportation planning. That shows how shallow planners are: within another 20 years, that investment will be completely worn out and San Jose will have to decide whether to scrap it or spend another few billion replacing it.
. . . [the] Silicon Valley, with its jobs spread out more thinly than almost anywhere else in the country, was unsuited for large-bus transit service. So to go from buses to light rail, which requires even more job concentration to work, was a mistake. Having made that mistake, VTA now wants to build BART, which requires even more job concentration. . .
Light rail was the wrong solution for San Jose in 1987, it is the wrong solution today, and it still will be the wrong solution in 2027. We can only hope that San Joseís leaders and opinion makers, including the Mercury-News, come to their senses by then and decide to junk the whole thing.

Meanwhile, in Houston, as our local “leaders” continue planning to spend upwards of $4 billion on expansion of a light rail system that relatively few citizens of the area will use, alternative transit projects that make much more sense are relegated to discussion in the blogosphere.
The Houston area is a big place with a vibrant and resilient economy. But Metro’s light rail system is the one urban boondoggle going right now that has the potential to become a serious economic drag on the local economy in the not-to-distant future. It’s far past time that our local leadership noticed and started taking actions to hedge this risk.