Email from County exec Scott walker:

Charlie,

There they go again. The editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the other day (http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=754527) is more of the same: push light rail without out regard to cost or public support.  

In fact, this section of the editorial is the most unbelievable to me:

Walker says express buses or BRT could do the same thing more cheaply. He's right about the economics; a 2001 study by the Government Accountability Office concluded that bus rapid transit systems offer greater flexibility than light rail and "can have lower capital costs than light rail systems yet can often provide similar performance."

But while the express buses, such as the sleek hybrid diesel-electric demo that was in town just last week, are impressive, the best answer is a combination of bus rapid transit and a fixed system incorporating some kind of rail component favored by Barrett. As envisioned by Walker and Barrett, the buses would run in designated lanes.

So they acknowledge that the Bus Rapid Transit plan is cheaper and impressive, yet they want the more costly option.  The reality is that mass transit is for those who are transit dependent: people who need a ride because of income or health status.  Its primary purpose is not to thrill people.  Its primary purpose is to get people from one spot to another.  

Study after study shows that no matter how “exciting” rail is, the overwhelming majority of workers will stay in their vehicles and drive to work.  So why spend millions and millions extra to move a percentage or two into mass transit?  

The story about the City of Milwaukee’s budget today suggests that any excess money should be spent to secure positions in the fire and police departments.  

Scott