Choo choo!

The idea of building and using trains of some sort continues to be discussed in this city and county. Even though the general public is overwhelmingly against the ideas. At the same time we're lamenting the decline in support over our bus system. It's being discussed because of money that's available federally for transportation needs . . . alternate transportation needs. Of course, no legislator worth their weight in special interest money will turn down what they think is "free" money (taxpayer money). So we have these useless discussions. Well, duh! Use the money slated for the rail ideas no one wants and put it towards our bus system! This seems an easy solution, but it isn't. First, we'd have to have the money re-appropriated as it's meant for alternate transportation and can't be used for such yucky things like roads and buses. Here again, shouldn't be a big problem. The democrats are in power locally, and we have two democrats in federal power respresenting the state . . . just make a phone call and ask! The second problem is this notion that "if we build it, they will give up their cars for slower, less convenient, and less reliable transportation." This is as far from reality as humility is in hollywood. Ain't gonna happen. Some like to point to the success other cities have had with rail. What they fail to point out are the FAILURES rail has also had in various cities.

Now, I'm all for mass transit. But virtually all rail systems are the most inflexible of options. They require track and a place to put them, building infrastructures for boarding and unboarding, cannot be re-routed for any reason such as an accident, break down, weather, or route demands, have a higher operating costs than buses, and simply cannot offer as many routes and stops as buses can. Milwaukee is just not a rail city. We do not have the large pockets of population or the concentrated area of jobs to make a rail system work . . . without costing the taxpayers to run it.

Let's support our buses. Let's reappropriate the transportation money for our bus system. But, let's also abandon all notions of a rail system in this city and county.