Taxpayer birthday present to LRT

Pertinent observation from this week's Taxpayers League of Minnesota E Update.

Don’t want to pay for a car? Don’t worry, that’s what taxpayers are for.The first birthday for the Hiawatha Light Rail is here, and according to the breathless media reports last week the train has been a huge success – unless you decide to look at the numbers. While ridership has surpassed all expectations, even doubling the current number of trips isn’t going to make this project any less of a boondoggle. So how bad is it? Each ride on our beloved train costs the passenger $1.25 while the operating costs come in around $9.73 a ride. I don’t think that was mentioned in any of last week’s stories. So who makes up the difference? The same guy that takes it in the shorts every time government decides they know what’s best for us.

Check your shorts.