4 ms·
Metropolitan Seattle has 3.5m people. This project will cost ~$15k per resident, roughly equivalent to the per-person national debt.
by calcsam 11y ago
Metropolitan Seattle has 3.5m people.
This project will cost ~$15k per resident, roughly equivalent to the per-person national debt.
- CydeWeys 11y agoIt will cost that much per resident over 30 years. The actual per-year cost is a good deal smaller. A better comparison to the annual debt would be per capita annual transit spending vs per capita annual national budget deficit (not total debt).
- avn2109 11y agoIf I still lived in Seattle and had the choice between a) Functional transit for a one time payment of $15 grand and then chump change for train fare for the rest of my life and b) Buying, fueling, insuring, maintaining, and driving a car at a vastly greater cost (probably around 10 grand per year all-in) for the rest of my life I would pick A) every time. It's not even a contest, I would pick A) at twice the price. Hell, it would probably be economically rational to pick A) at 5x the price.
- the_cat_kittles 11y agoas a current resident of nearly 25 years, i agree wholeheartedly.
- Gustomaximus 11y agoSeattle has 3.5 million people now. A good rail system will be serving the city in MANY generations to come. And yes future cost of money but it also seems these projects become ever more expensive too if delayed. Anecdotally, I've traveled a reasonable amount. Any city I've been to with a world calls metro system (6 I've seen) are all hugely appreciated by the local and tourists alike. I've never head someone say "that underground was a waste of money". In cities without metros I've heard a bunch of complaints about the lack of the ability to move around quickly/easily.
- OrwellianChild 11y agoFor reference, Seattle has been getting ~100k new residents every year for the past couple, with no sign of slowing down...