From the AP:
The business plan says the rail system would be profitable enough to pay for its own operations even under the lowest ridership projections, with operating revenue ranging from $1.4 billion to $2.1 billion in 2035, according to the report. It pegs operation and maintenance costs by 2035 at $1.4 billion to $2 billion a year. Planners say they reduced their calculations for population growth, future gas prices and airfare to provide the most conservative ridership estimates, but critics note that they are still relying on a modeling system that has come under heavy scrutiny. "I don't believe that these estimates are precise enough to say anything with certainty," said David Brownstone, an economics professor at the University of California, Irvine who co-authored a 2010 report that criticized the rail authority's previous ridership calculations.

For the full story, please visit http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/11/05/29737/true-rail-ridership-numbers-el... (AP link unavailable at time of posting).

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