RTD, the Unloved Transit Agency

RTD Fastracks announced earlier this month that it would be getting $304 million dollars in loans for rebuilding Union Station as a "multimodal transit center". That's a fancy way of saying it is where many of the bus, light rail, and commuter rail will all come together. The press release (pdf) also is excited about $40 million for each of three corridors in the proposed 2011 Federal Budget. However, this probably is nothing more than what is expected as there is no word on this or other circumstances changing the $2 billion dollar shortfall caused by a projected $3 drop in sales tax revenue with only a $1 billion dollar drop in construction costs.

RTD's preferred solution to the problem is a four cent increase in the sales tax in the RTD district. I doubt that the program will get the funding increase as the whole project is about as attractive as a corporate business meeting. The thing is described in terms like "multimodal", "enhanced", "alternative", "sustainable", and other buzz words. I'm a fan of things like commuter rail since it is terribly useful for when a car is not an option and a great deal better than the standard bus. The thing is that the project, indeed RTD itself, does not do a good job of conveying what it does and why it is important.

Look at the name for starters. RTD stands for Regional Transportation District. Is that not the most bland name possible? No sense of geography, history, or even the smallest hint of excitement. And there are at least three other transit agencies alone using that acronym: Sacramento Regional Transit District in California, San Joaquin Regional Transit District centered on Stockton, and the Southern California Rapid Transit District in LA. Contrast that with New Mexico's Rail Runner Express. Even with the unnecessary and silly addition of "express" to the name it is still head and shoulders above something like North Metro Corridor or Southwest Light Rail Line.

In addition there is the streak of libertarian-ish voting on the part of Coloradans, even residents of the Denver area. People are unlikely to be swayed by arguments based upon numbers and facts when the emotional feeling about RTD is, "Hey, why are you back asking for more money for this project? Didn't we give you a sales tax increase back in 2004? And we don't even use/like you that much in the first place."