- Amtrak Amtrak lost $32 per passenger in 2008. (read here). In 2009, taxpayers had to give it a $1.4 billion to keep it afloat. (read here.)
- Caltrains Caltrains is losing vast amounts of money and may actually stop running as a massive deficit opens in front of it. (read here). Meanwhile, only 40% of its revenue comes from fares. Most of the rest is taxpayer funded subsidies. (read here) It's also worth noting that the Caltrain operating budget exploded, going from $75 million in 2005 to $100 million in 2010, despite cutbacks in service.
- BART 53% of BART's operating expenses are paid by fares. The rest is covered by taxpayers. (read here)
- Los Angeles Metrolink Fares are 44% of operating expenses. Taxpayer subsidies are 47%. (read here)
If, like other train rides, government subsides are needed to fund half the operating expenses, what does that mean for the cost of high speed rail after it's built?
The High Speed Rail Authority projects approximately $2.6 Billion a year in revenue (read here). This would imply that, if they are like all the other mass transit systems that were supposed to be profitable, they'll need hundreds of millions of dollars a year. That isn't unthinkable. They project they'll be significantly larger than Amtrack, and Amtrak has needed more than a billion a year in taxpayer money for a long time.
