Hoofbite
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I don't think you can necessarily look solely at the direct economic impact when dealing with something like mass transportation because it's likely the indirect economic impacts are far greater in the long run. Fewer cars means less wear and tear on the roads and reduced repair costs or frequency of repairs. Fewer cars means better commute times. Granted you likely won't see significant improvements there from a single line but when built out to encompass better local means of transportation it all adds up.Not being from Texas I have no opinion on whether this project makes sense or not. But I completely understand why people are generally cynical about projects like this. There are lots of well-meaning projects that turned out to be money pits for a number of states, and taxpayers are on the hook for those projects. Once built, taxpayers will be paying for any revenue shortfall forever. 100,000 people per week sounds like a lot of people but here in NJ over 300,000 cars per day cross the George Washington Bridge, and yet NY and NJ continue to raise the tolls which is now over $15 for peak hours for a car, and can be over $125 for a 6 axle truck.
I don't know how much they plan to charge for people to take the high speed rail in Texas, but if it is $25 for example and all 100,000 people use the train system, it will take 230 years to pay off the initial $30 billion. That's assuming all 100,000 per week take the train. In reality the number will probably be much fewer.
Most public works cost something and plenty of them generate nothing. Turning a large plot of land into a park isn't going to generate revenue worth writing home about, if any at all. Maintaining foothills and public access to land doesn't generate revenue but it gives people activities and adds to quality of life. Cutting a commute in half or up to 1/3rd would be a quality of life improvement. Time saved, reliability, cost, and not having to operate a vehicle. Those are worthwhile things.
I would like to see rail work somewhere. I don't care where.