TKC SUNDAY SPECIAL!!! KANSAS CITY TRANSIT ACTIVISTS DEMAND AN END TO THE TOY TRAIN STREETCAR FREE RIDE!!!
Despite Hollywood accounting tricks and propaganda from both consultants and toy train enthusiasts; ultimately all of Kansas City subsidizes the tiny Downtown streetcar line to the detriment of other pressing civic priorities.
The attention, press events, and time spent promoting the line by City Hall staff and elected officials comes at a cost to other pressing KCMO needs. Furthermore, anybody who has been following our declining urban core situation realizes that there are fewer police on the streets, less focus on trash pickup and street maintenance along with an overall abandonment of neighborhoods throughout this town amid the rise of Kansas City streetcar culture.
To wit . . .
TRANSIT ACTIVISTS DEMAND THE TOY TRAIN START CHARGING A FARE IN ORDER TO MOVE TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY AND CAPITALIZE ON CLAIMS OF POPULARITY!!!
Like it or not, this editorial crunches the numbers and hopes City Hall will enact a more equatable streetcar system that charges a fare. Here's the word . . .
Free Ride is Over
There is no reason that KCMO should be the only city in the US (possibly in the world) giving away free streetcar rides. Implementing a fare system would be easy. Automatic ticket dispenser kiosks ($1000 ea) would be added and fare enforcement is done by random inspection. This is the system used in other cities.
Using the same fare as the bus, those 6800 per day riders would generate $3,750,000 per year. Unfortunately, this is not enough to cover the $8,400,000 per year the trolley costs KCMO; but it would be a start.
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You decide . . .
Can't do it. If the streetcar riders had to pay for this thing the ridership would drop to 200 a day.
ReplyDelete^^^^^^^^^ As opposed to the 800 during the week and a few peak times on the weekends?
ReplyDeleteIt's a reactionary measure to start charging for the streetcar. We need to give it time to grow and encourage KCmo business to build around it.
ReplyDeleteI think this commenter runs the risk of killing the proverbial goose that laid the golden egg. The fares would never raise as much money as all of development that is popping up around the streetcar, that's the real promise for our city, that we can create a community built around a transit line that is both vibrant and productive. A lot of that is already happening with more apartments, hotels and entertainment venues popping up near the line. The fare would cut off that momentum.
It's not that I don't feel for other parts of KC that might seem neglected but in Downtown there is really a chance to create something that will hopefully benefit all of us in the future with more jobs, tourists and revenue that all of our city can benefit from. Why risk that? Keep the streetcar free and let's see where that takes us.
I am a tourist. I came here just so I could ride the streetcar - and for free!
ReplyDelete^^^^^^From China, yet!
ReplyDeleteCharge for the amusement park toot toot. Make the buses free.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe only justification for the streetcar is ridership. Adding a fare will only reduce ridership. I am against expansion and I am against charging a fare. I would eventually like to see all KCMO buses free, or no more than $0.25 per ride.
ReplyDelete7:00am – why should KCMO be giving away free rides to tourist when we are struggling to pay outrageous water bills? As you know the trolley has yet to bring any new jobs or businesses to the district. All we have to show are a bunch of new apartments whose residents require government services and don’t pay for them. We don’t need this kind of revitalization.
ReplyDeleteLet’s make the buses free and let the tourist pay for the trolley rides.
ReplyDeleteWhy does KCMO give away free streetcar rides and no other city in the US does so? Why do we ask all citizens of the City to financially support a scheme to try and revitalize a block or so on each side of Main Street? Shouldn’t the tourists that use it chip in a little bit too?
ReplyDeleteI agree! They should do he same with the publicly subsidized roads in Kansas City. I say the 20 miles round trip it takes to go to the grocery store or Walmart should cost $5 every time! There should be a monthly pass available for your car to go to work every day, for only $120!
ReplyDeleteThe talk of downtown development because of the streetcar is so bogus. The developers are building rental units that pay no taxes and the developers get free 20 year tax abatements. Cost per sq ft in Kansas City is cheaper than other cities. And land is available, whereas in other cities they would have to buy a building and tear it down in order to build a new one. The developers aren't stupid. It's all about financial gain to them. The streetcar is not what's bringing them. It's the money. They're in it for the money. Give them any good deal on Main Street even without a streetcar and they'll take it.
ReplyDeleteAnd trolley boy (8:11) posts his first herf derf of the day.
ReplyDeleteWhen are we going to get over trying to revitalize downtown? Next thing will be they will want us to subsidize a downtown entertainment district.
ReplyDelete8:11 AM – I guess you don’t get out much. They already have that; they are called toll roads which are highways that people pay to use. And for tourist attractions, there is an admission fee.
ReplyDeleteSly James wants a legacy to be remembered by so why don't we vote to give it a name like "The J Train"?
ReplyDeleteGo For KC – in case you have not noticed even the streetcar folks have given up on the “bring new development” scenario. It was their theme for a while. Since it has not worked out, they now tout its usefulness in moving over a million people. Never mind that buses could do it cheaper and more efficiently.
ReplyDeleteBut wait, according to you nobody rides it anyway and the ridership numbers are all lies, so what would this change?
ReplyDelete9:05am – don’t believe that over a million people claim. “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” Ridership is probably around 250 people per day on weekdays and maybe 2500 people per day weekends.
ReplyDelete$8 million a year for the trolley, $10 million a year for P&L – all in an effort to revitalize downtown. Would it be cheaper to just build a new downtown in JoCo where the jobs are?
ReplyDelete12th and Oak will fight charging to ride the trolley for as long as they can. Once they start charging the daily rider counts will plummet faster than the Royals play off hopes did.
ReplyDeleteDowntown and midtown need to start paying for their sewers.
ReplyDeleteBryan M. Stalder – you are right about the only justification appears to be ridership. I guess the question is whether it would be more efficient to transport the riders by bus rather than trolley? If the streetcar was shut down, there would be an immediate savings to the City of over $4 million per year.
ReplyDeleteI no longer want to pay property tax because of no street maintenance and lack of police By the way I will pay to ride a bus(never) and the street car (someday)
ReplyDelete"Transit activists" who don't even have a name for their group?
ReplyDeleteLaughable. So, I take it this group doesn't actually exist.
Oh sure they exist!
ReplyDeleteThey've got all the proof of the phony ridership statistics!
oh wait that doesn't exist either.
Tony does your "transit activist" group need a name?
Bloggers Against Bogus Insincere Evidence Statistics? Or BABIES, for short?
How about Complaining Unctuous Negro Transit Skeptics.
ReplyDeleteGood name.
Stop voting for more taxes ya dumb asses. Who do you think gets to pay for all this bullshit?
ReplyDeleteThe City of Fountains has no money to fix the fountains, but plenty money to give out free rides to tourist. Time for a change in leadership at City Hall???
ReplyDelete1:19 PM - there are zero educated folks in the metropolitan area that believe those bogus ESTIMATED ridership numbers that David Johnson puts out.
ReplyDeleteIn reviewing the comments, there appears to be only one argument against charging the tourists for the trolley rides. The argument is that ridership would fall off. If KCMO is offering a service that has no value, maybe that service needs to go and we can cut our cut losses.
ReplyDeleteWe would not even be having this discussion if you white peckerwoods would get off your asses and vote. Unfortunately you have not figured out the magic formula for holding the local yokel politicians accountable.
ReplyDeleteThe streetcar stays winning as it grabs KC by the pussy & draws in riders....
ReplyDelete