Scott scraps Orlando to Tampa rail project

[30ashopper]

First ? capital cost overruns from the project could put Florida taxpayers on the hook for an additional $3 billion.

o Second ? ridership and revenue projections are historically overly-optimistic and would likely result in ongoing subsidies that state taxpayers would have to incur. (from $300 million ? $575 million over 10 years) ? Note: The state subsidizes Tri-Rail $34.6 million a year while passenger revenues covers only $10.4 million of the $64 million annual operating budget.


o Finally ? if the project becomes too costly for taxpayers and is shut down, the state would have to return the $2.4 billion in federal funds to D.C.

• The truth is that this project would be far too costly to taxpayers and I believe the risk far outweighs the benefits.

• Historical data shows capital cost overruns are pervasive in 9 out of 10 high speed rail projects and that 2/3 of those projects inflated ridership projections by an average of 65 percent of actual patronage.

• It is projected that 3.07 million people will use the train annually. Keep in mind that Amtrak?s Acela train in Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore only had 3.2 million riders in 2010. And that market?s population is 8 times the size of the Tampa/Orlando market.

• President Obama?s high-speed rail program is not the answer to Florida?s economic recovery.

• We must make investments in areas where we will get a return for the shareholders ? Florida?s taxpayers.

• Rather than investing in a high-risk rail project, we should be focusing on improving our ports, rail and highway infrastructure to be in a position to attract the increased shipping that will result when the Panama Canal is expanded when the free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama are ratified and with the expansion of the economies of Central and South America.

• By capturing a larger share of containerized imports entering our seaports, expanding export markets for Florida businesses and emerging as a global hub for trade and investment we can create up to an additional 143,000 jobs according to a recent chamber of commerce study.

• It is absolutely critical that we make smart investments with taxpayer dollars, whether state or federal, and I believe our state will be better served by spending these funds on projects that will benefit Florida and not turn into a spending boondoggle.

• The answer is to reduce government spending, cut government?s leash on our state?s job creators and then hold that government accountable for the investments it makes.

Florida Governor Rick Scott - Florida Governor Rick Scott Rejects Federal High Speed Rail

And of course, special interests, local politicians, and the feds cry foul!

Rick Scott rejects high-speed rail: Gov. Rick Scott says he's rejecting federal high-speed rail money - OrlandoSentinel.com

 

[scooterbug44]

WTF on the ports idea.

Tampa is already the #16 port in the nation by volume, 10 of the 15 ports ahead of it on the list are located on the Gulf, and 2 more on the Gulf round out the top 25.

Ports grow because of location, population, lack of competition, and easy access to markets.

I'll buy the argument that he is concerned about costs for high speed rail, but IMO continuing to focus on highways and autos for transportation in a state with an aging population is just dumb and this port thing is left field.

 

[BeachSiO2]

SB, he's likely talking about port deepening that will be required for the new Panamax ships that will be coming over when the Panama Canal deepening is complete in the next couple of years. I have been following the issue closely due to some infighting between Savannah and Charleston. Both want to deepen but it takes big $. If ports can't handle the Panamax boats they will rapidly lose market share. Right now, Norfolk is about the only port that's ready (there may be one more), but SC, NC, GA and FL are angling for federal dollars. The ramifications could be huge.

 

[BeachSiO2]

I can't edit on my bberry. I was only talking about Atlantic Coast situation. Do not know about ports on the Gulf.

 

[AlphaCrab]

One step forward and two backwards. Scott prefers gas guzzling cars and careless big oil companies as the solution. This is not progress.

 

[30ashopper]

One step forward and two backwards. Scott prefers gas guzzling cars and careless big oil companies as the solution. This is not progress.

Americans love cars. Best to replace them with more fuel efficient vehicles. Trains don't work on a mass scale here.

We've been partying off the froth of the real estate bubble for years now. Scott's dragging the state back on the right track, yelling, kicking, and screaming if he has to.

 

[GoodWitch58]

apparently the people in the Tampa Bay area don't think so:
Train wreck of a governor - St. Petersburg Times

Gov. Rick Scott rashly acted in his own political interests and sacrificed the best interests of Florida Wednesday by rejecting federal money for a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. It is a reckless, devastating decision that has nothing to do with the merits of rail and everything to do with Scott's obsession with courting the tea party movement and fighting the Obama administration. Florida's state legislators and members of Congress should explore every option in salvaging a project that holds so much promise for the state's economy and Tampa Bay's future.

If Scott were an honest broker looking out for Floridians, he would not have killed the project before putting it out to bid. He would have waited for an updated study on ridership and costs. The contention Wednesday by his press office that Scott has inside information is not good enough.

Scott took aim at the federal deficit and the Obama administration, which he intends to fight on every front regardless of Florida's needs. He fails to mention that the high-speed rail money is already committed and that Florida's money will just go to New York or another state with more vision. The reaction to such a foolish decision was biting and across the board. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he was disappointed, but noted: "There is overwhelming demand for high-speed rail in other states." U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, blasted Scott for a "devastating lack of vision," and U.S. Rep. John Mica, the Winter Park Republican who chairs the House transportation panel, urged the governor to reconsider. State Sen. Jack Latvala, the Clearwater Republican who chairs the state Senate's Transportation Committee, said Scott's move was premature: "We've cut off our noses to spite our face."

That's putting it mildly. Scott did real harm to the Tampa Bay area, which has worked on a regional basis for years to improve area transit and to build the start of an integrated light rail system. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio said she was "terribly disappointed," calling the move a "bad decision for all Floridians" that sends "a terrible message" to the business community. The state's powerful business lobby, Associated Industries, which had supported the rail plan, should be ashamed for kissing up to Scott by rationalizing the governor's move. In downtown Tampa alone, Scott's decision undermines tens of millions of dollars in public investment in housing, parks and retail. And it dampens the ongoing effort in Pinellas and across the bay to bring a major new mass transit initiative to the table.

The governor who travels in his private jet should look out the window the next time he flies over traffic-clogged Tampa Bay and Interstate 4. And when he looks for someone who could have created thousands of jobs and didn't, he can look in the mirror.

 

[AlphaCrab]

Americans love cars. Best to replace them with more fuel efficient vehicles. Trains don't work on a mass scale here.

We've been partying off the froth of the real estate bubble for years now. Scott's dragging the state back ... .

Quote from Obama's Press Secy' on the return of the 2.4 billion that was to go to us in Fla. Guess some "other" state(s) will receive a infrastructure windfall.

Scott is great at cost slashing without much thought to the process. His administration cannot work toward removing inefficiency and investing in new jobs, technology, new resources. He wants to take us backwards. Sad day for Florida--great day for Ohio and Michigan!


"There has been a lot of bipartisan support for the need to create the kind of modern infrastructure in this country that will enable us to compete. High speed rail is very much a part of that and we will make sure that that money is used elsewhere to advance the infrastructure and innovation agenda that is essential for economic growth".

 

[rheffron]

Anybody notice gas creeping up towards 4.00 a gallon. Think it will hit 5.00 in your lifetime? Maybe the next 5 years? Does Scott realize that highways don't pay for themselves either?

 

[scooterbug44]

Let me see if I am following correctly:

Bad - accepting federal money to build a high speed train system in an area that has been preparing its infrastructure for it

Because future usage is uncertain and there are big capital outlays.

Good - spending $$$ to deepen a port

Even though it hinges on a foreign project that isn't complete, future usage is uncertain, and there are big capital outlays.

Good Gravy.