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The high speed rail amendment in Florida was killed by overwhemling majority
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Guys - <br /> <br />I live in Florida and voted against the HST in 2002 and again Nov. 2. <br /> <br />The reason I did so was because its backers did not level with the citizens about the cost of the HST; indeed, it was more than implied a couple of times that the HST might even become profitable. <br /> <br />Now, I love passenger trains. I've ridden a couple. And Florida's traffic is bad and getting worse (I live with it every day.) <br /> <br />But if HST is going to be the answer, let some reputable promoter (not some fast-talking millionaire trying to get me and a few million other taxpayers to pay for his dream) come in and give us an honest appraisal of the problem and let us know, honestly, what it's going to cost. <br /> <br />And don't let him try to bamboozle me by telling me that it'll someday pay for itself. It won't. Nobody in the world makes money hauling people without one or both of two factors being present: he provides a premium service for which he can extract the last nickle from the rider that he'll pay (a taxicab company is a good example - he picks you up at your door and takes you to your destination door); or the government entities pay for his losses and provides him with a reasonable profit. <br /> <br />I worked for a commuter agency in a large city about 25 years ago, and our riders didn't want to know that the price of their ticket paid for about 45% of the cost of their ride. But we had a local agency that paid the other 55% and provided capital money for maintenance and improvements. Taxpayer money, that is. <br /> <br />I don't know what Florida's answer is, but I agree that something drastic must be done. But tell me honestly how it'll work and I'll be a lot more agreeable to it. <br /> <br />Old Timer
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