SMART Train. How smart?

SMART is a proposed 70-mile passenger railroad and parallel bicycle-pedestrian path along the publicly owned Northwestern Pacific Railroad right of way through two counties. The rail line runs from Cloverdale, at the north-end of Sonoma County, to Larkspur, where the Golden Gate Ferry connects Marin County with San Francisco. Contiguous bike trails from Cloverdale to Larkspur... what's not to like? Well, I'm a taxpayer too.

The first problem that I see with the SMART train project is the in-excess-of half billion dollars that it will cost to develop. As an economics teacher I view everything from the perspective of choices and allocations. If a region (like ours) had a not-insignificant half billion dollars to spend should we ask, "Is this the best way to invest it given the many priorities we have?" In other words, we will be making a conscious decision to spend it on a train rather than health care, children, the elderly, etc.

Second, every time I see a public bus it is nearly empty with the exception of the bridge-subsidized Golden Gate buses headed to San Francisco, exactly where SMART won't go. Can you (or anyone else for that matter) honestly say that you will take the train to San Rafael, Novato or Larkspur rather than drive with enough frequency to even remotely approach SMART's ridership estimates? And when you get to San Rafael, Novato or Larkspur you do so on public transit's schedule not yours. "Darn! There goes the ferry! When's the next one?" Then, when you get to San Rafael do you wait for a bus to get you closer to your destination or do you rent a car or hire a taxi, walk maybe?

Lastly, SMART is being positioned by proponents as costing "only" a 1/4% increase in the sales tax. That works out to more than a regressive 3% increase in tax dollars paid. So if you buy $50,000 per year in taxable goods and services you will pay an incremental $125 per year for the next twenty years. Imagine getting a bill for $125 every year from SMART. Then imagine writing a check to pay the bill... and that's whether or not you ever buy a ticket.

Well, I still like the bike trails.