Eichelberger is Right
Rep. Sam Smith may not have realized it, but he just helped Cumberland County Commissioner Gary Eichelberger win the Republican nomination.
Rep. Smith was interviewed by the Post-Gazette on funding mass transit projects. Here’s a soundbite from that story:
Mr. Smith said the state already provides $900 million a year for mass transit systems around the state, which he said is a considerable amount. He said the state subsidy already accounts for 75 percent of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s budget and about 63 percent of the Port Authority budget.
“Transit agencies already get a pile of state aid,” he said. “It’s time for local or county agencies to come up with additional funds.”
This is what Commissioner Eichelberger, and the other current commissioners for that matter, have been warning about and the reason why they have opposed the Corridor One porkbarrel express. They knew that MTP actually stands for More Taxes Please and the people of Cumberland County do not support increasing their taxes to pay for a diesel train that would have very limited ridership.
It’s now apparent that the state won’t have any money to fund it. The feds don’t have much spare money either. Whose left to pay the bill? Only the local governments, through taxes - your taxes.
Furthermore, the train won’t be like the Metro in DC or the subway in NYC where a train stops at each stop every 10 minutes or so, and more often during rush hour. No, these will be like the current bus system - a few stops each day - if you miss it, good luck, you’re on your own. Trying telling your boss you can’t stay late to help on a major project because if you miss your ride home you will be stuck at work until tomorrow - see how well that goes over. Flexibility matters, which is why the train won’t get ridership.
Gunnison keeps saying that this race isn’t about the train. That’s funny, it’s all everyone else is talking about. Maybe Mrs. Gunnison should get on board, so to speak, with reality. The train is the issue - and more importantly the taxes that would have to be raised to pay for it.