There’s a move afoot to kill off the Northstar Commuter Rail line…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, no. There’s a move to finish the job that a misbegotten concept, government bloat and Covid started<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, it cost taxpayers over $11.5 million to operate, but the line only generated about $325,000 in fare revenue, according to a new study<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As ridership has dwindled, the Northstar line’s future has become uncertain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the pandemic, the service carried between 2,200 and 3,000 riders on weekdays. However, during the pandemic, ridership plummeted by nearly 98%, dropping to just 60 weekday riders in April 2020. Today, the line still struggles to attract passengers, with only a couple hundred people using the service.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The funny – as in “weird”, not “ha ha” for the most part – thing is, commuter rail was the kind of rail service that should have had some shot\u00a0<\/em>at making sense; they use (or are supposed to use)\u00a0 existing right of way, can use fairly minimal stations, and don’t have to tear up streets or utilities like the light rail lines through the city, and can be designed and purposed to address\u00a0actual transportation needs<\/em> across larger metropolitan areas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And yet they botched it.<\/p>\n And the bureaucracy’s defense – “practice makes perfect”?\u00a0 Well…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n