In multiple states, failing large-scale public transit projects have produced demands for state-taxpayer-funded bailouts. This has happened in California, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, to name just a few.
That’s why all Oklahomans should be concerned about Oklahoma City metro officials’ efforts to create a $1.8 billion commuter rail system covering 39 miles from Edmond to Oklahoma City to Norman.
Proponents claim passenger rail will boost economic development in the metro, but similar rail services have augmented the worst problems of urban settings—homelessness and crime—and spread them throughout surrounding areas.
That means the cost of the rail system is not just measured through increased tax burden, but also through increased criminal behavior and property destruction…