This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

From the Things Are Tough All Over Department:

It seems the Wasatch Front is not the only rapidly growing area where folks are upset [UTA needs to break the secrecy habit — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial] with their public transit agency:

— Metro needs new champions on Capitol Hill — Washington Post Editorial

"Washington's subway system, already beset by daily service snafus and frighteningly frequent major mishaps, risks a downward spiral in its finances. Even as despairing customers quit Metro and local politicians heap scorn on it, the system needs billions of dollars in the short and medium term, without which it is virtually certain that things will grow worse.

"The paradox is how to generate support for new infusions of money — to rescue, maintain and improve a degraded network — even as the system's passengers and political patrons abandon it amid accelerating decay. ..."

Hmmm. That sounds familiar.

This one is, if anything, worse than what we've suffered through in Utah:

— Big Sound Transit party casts pall over future projects — Seattle Times Editorial

"The public should celebrate the completion of signature public projects.

"Such events are an opportunity to recognize public servants and highlight projects done on schedule and budget. They also broadcast the availability of new facilities and show taxpayers how their money was spent.

"This can all be done without throwing a blowout celebration that costs nearly $1 million, like Sound Transit did in March when it opened its Capitol Hill and University of Washington light-rail stations.

"As reported by Mike Lindblom of The Times, the agency spent an eye-popping $858,379 on opening festivities. ...

" ... Revelations of this spending come as Sound Transit asks the region to write the largest check in its history, to cover $50 billion worth of rail and bus projects that would take decades to complete. ...

" ... Now is the time for Sound Transit to demonstrate that it has a culture of economy, not excess."

Elseweb:

— Don't give up on CAT — Savannah (Ga.) Morning News Editorial

"Chatham County's public transit system must not let the pending criminal charges against its former director cause the organization to grind to a sudden stop, which would hurt the community in many ways. ..."

— U.S., region pay a price for negligence — Virginian Pilot Editorial

"If a community cannot pave its way out of gridlock — and none ever has — the polar idea is equally true: Neglect can hobble a place. ...

" ... Because nobody planned or built the necessary roads or alternatives, traffic in Hampton Roads has become among the most gridlocked in America. Our system is so overburdened and our solutions so deficient that, as The Pilot's Jordan Pascale reported earlier this month, spending $12.8 billion on the roads in the next 25 years will ensure that peak-hour congestion only triples. ..."

— Keep the Twin Cities rolling with a transit build-out — Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"A fruitful conclusion to the 2016 legislative session is not yet in sight. But the path to one is becoming clear: The fate of four major bills — bonding, budget, taxes and transportation — hinges on achieving a bipartisan accord on transportation. And a transportation deal can't be reached without an agreement to fund Metro Transit, including the Southwest light-rail line. ..."

— On time? On budget? Fat chance — Vancouver Sun Editorial

"The ruling Liberal Party, one of the most durable governments in B.C.'s political history, rode to power excoriating cost overruns on a disastrous plan to revitalize B.C. Ferries with fast catamarans. Costs for the ferries doubled and the new ships were delivered three years behind schedule. They became symbols of the economic incompetence of the New Democrats.

"Have the Liberals caught the same disease? ..."

— Federal grant to nowhere — Dan Benson | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

" ... The atmosphere inside the Downtown Transit Center, 909 E. Michigan St., is cathedral-like, with its soaring ceilings and light shafting through the high windows across the floor of the 140-seat waiting room. Other than the occasional bus driver or construction worker passing through to use the restrooms or vending machines, or a sleeping homeless person rousted by the on-site manager, a soul can read quietly or sit in general contemplation undisturbed.

"It wasn't supposed to be that way — and won't be for much longer.

"The center, financed mostly with $10 million in federal grant money, opened in October 1992 with hoopla and will be torn down in the coming months to make way for the Couture complex. ..."

— A fix for our transportation mess — Tampa (Fla.) Tribune Editorial

"Hillsborough County commissioners are scheduled Wednesday to decide whether to put a transportation tax before voters in November.

"It is unlikely commissioners will ever face a more consequential vote. It will reveal whether they are willing to meaningfully confront the woeful transportation network that each day traps motorists on roads throughout the county and offers residents pitifully few options for getting around without a car.

"Commissioners should not let short-term political considerations prevent them from letting voters decide if they are ready for relief. ..."

— Mayor should lead transit charge — Indianapolis Business Journal Editorial

— Bombardier has failed Toronto transit riders — The Star (Toronto, Ontario)

"Toronto transit riders have put a lot of faith in Bombardier, and an awful lot of money as well – $1.25 billion for a new fleet of 21st-century streetcars. In return, the company has made a complete hash of the project. ..."

— Reading between the lines of the transit scandal report — Northern Life (Sudbury, Ontario) Editorial

" ... The report did find staff was inexperienced and poorly managed — basically, they were somewhat incompetent, but not criminal. ..."

— Going nowhere fast — Karachi (Pakistan) Express Tribune Editorial

"Any attempt to solve Karachi's mass and rapid transit problems seem doomed. ..."

I told you. Things are tough all over.