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In August 2010, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority (GLCA) made a landmark decision to open a bid to a public/private investment in the extension of the Gold Line rail to Azusa. This new hybrid business model allowed private contractors to work with a public entity on a major transportation system – one that would cost well over $450 million.

And it was a project that was welcomed in the past, as many riders were happy to finally be able to take the Gold Line for just a $1.50 from Montclair all the way to Union Station. What a deal!

With the assistance of hundreds of millions of dollars from committee resources, the extension committee was able to cover almost all of its costs for the project. All that is left is something just over $36 million.

How will this be covered? Well, in addition to this new model that marries public with private entities, new ways to pay for multi-million dollar projects has to be developed as well.

But it seems recently that the public is exceptionally upset over paying for the rest of the project’s tab.

The GLCA meeting to end all meetings happened on March 29. A four-hour public hearing began where hundreds of members from the public spoke out against a proposed Metro fare hike. If it passes, fares would go up to $2.25 and $1.10 for seniors and the disabled within the next four years.  For college students getting metro passes, the price would go up from $24 to $29 a semester this year.

If you think about it, it’s not much.

But if you think that paying a little extra is, so is a brand new 27.9-mile long Gold Line extension to your house in Montclair.

Members of the committee argued that if the fare hike did not go through soon, the deficit for Metro projects could get up to $225 million. The deficit would not only get bigger, over 1,000 Metro employees may need to be laid off and over one million hours of bus and rail service may be cut next year.

There are two evils in the situation, but the lesser of the two is to pay an extra 25 cents for your bus or rail fare or an extra $5 per semester for your student pass. It should go without saying that if you want something big and pretty in this day and age, you’re going to have to pay for it, too.

 

Sources:

  1. http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0330-mta-hearing-20140330,0,2667192.story#axzz2xfIBRZZl
  2. http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20140123/metro-considering-fare-hikes
  3. http://www.sgvtribune.com/general-news/20100831/gold-line-opens-bidding-on-450-million-extension-phase-tests-new-public-private-partnership-model
  4. http://www.foothillextension.org/images/uploads/files/2012-04-24_-_Board_Reports.pdf
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