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Originally Posted by SnyderBock
I totally disagree...
RTD will proceed with construction of the West Light Rail Line, proceed with construction of the Light Rail terminal at Union Station, and not delay these early aspects of FasTracks.
I also think RTD will proceed with the fare increase to help balance the budget with higher fuel prices. RTD will also start charging for parking for any out-of-district parkers and anyone whom stays for more than 24 hours - this will be a solid infusion of funds. For teh remainder of the budget shortfall, I think RTD will look to Public-Private-Partnerships and go with Design-Build-Operate solutions for at least two or three corridors and possibly four corridors.
Not only can PPP's close the budget gap, they have potential for the winning PPP opting to spend a little more money up front for a better technology, such as Electric Commuter Rail (EMU) instead of Diesel Commuter Rail (DMU). In fact, one PPP interested in the Airport line (a Spanish company I believe) is even exploring the feasibility of mag-lev technology for that line.
I think PPP's have the potential to infuse an additional 30-40% into the existing budget.
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PPP's were already used, along with large-scale project cut-backs, to bridge the last budget shortfall when the project cost went from $4.7 billion to $ 6.1 billion. I bet you that the new gap will be somewhere in the realm of $3 billion or so. This gap cannot be filled with any scope of PPP's and fare increases (fare revenues only cover about a quarter of RTD's operating budget, excluding development).
RTD is going to need more funding, if it can get a proportional amount of federal funding for FasTracks compared to what was received for the Trex then the budget shortfall picture is not nearly as dire.