Category: transit

Patriotism of people who didn’t hang up

The headline on the Rasmussen report is 41% Now Say “Buying American” Is Top Factor When Purchasing a Car. If this means that a very large proportion of auto buyers prefer to buy US-built even if it might not be the best deal,  it would indicate that many people are patriotic and willing to sacrifice for their country. That would be significant for any reformer, showing that many people are seriously committed to national welfare, and we need only find a way to connect with them.

But when we look at the details of how the survey was done, we find that:

  • It uses robocall technology, and covers only those who do not automatically hang up when receiving a robocall.  (Pollsters say they make adjustments for age, race, gender, political party, which might help overcome this limitation.)
  • It’s not limited to people likely to buy new cars in the near future, nor to people with any interest in or ability to buy any car
  • Many of the calls were made on Veterans’ Day, when some people might be in a particularly patriotic mood
  • Only 29% of the total respondents think that “buy American” means “buy a car manufactured in the United States.”

Imho the most patriotic thing Americans can do regarding new car purchases is to forego them, buy a bicycle and/or transit pass, and avoid going into debt. (Only 27% of new car buyers pay cash.)  The benefits in terms of reduced petroleum dependence outweigh anything from purchasing domestic brands.

Unfortunately, many employers choose locations which are accessible only by automobile, so not everyone has this option. If fewer of us chose to have cars, this problem might be less common.

Car plague and bankster plague intersect

I have long tried to avoid any dealings with the various tentacles of Chase Morgan Stanley, figuring somehow or other I would be injured by them.  Apparently, at least in Colorado, some (or all?) of their staff are exempt from prosecution for assault.  Google finds only two reports, one from the UK Daily Mail , one from the Vail Daily, local to the event.

In case these links disappear, the first three sentences from the Daily Mail story give a pretty good summary.

A financial manager for wealthy clients will not face charges for a hit-and-run because it could jeopardise his job, it has been revealed. Martin Joel Erzinger, 52, was set to face felony charges for running over a doctor who he hit from behind in his 2010 Mercedes Benz, and then speeding off. But now he will simply face two misdemeanour traffic charges from the July 3 incident in Eagle, Colorado.

And from the Daily Vail:

Erzinger, an Arrowhead homeowner, is a director in private wealth management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Denver. His biography on Worth.com states that Erzinger is “dedicated to ultra high net worth individuals, their families and foundations.”

Erzinger manages more than $1 billion in assets. He would have to publicly disclose any felony charge within 30 days, according to North American Securities Dealers regulations.

The decision to drop felony charges was made by the local prosecutor, over the victim’s objections.  One infers from the articles that the Erzinger will pay some monetary restitution.

More details from the Daily Vail:

Erzinger drove all the way through Avon, the town’s roundabouts, under I-70 and stopped in the Pizza Hut parking lot where he called the Mercedes auto assistance service to report damage to his vehicle, and asked that his car be towed, records show. He did not ask for law enforcement assistance, according to court records.

Erzinger told police he was unaware he had hit Milo, court documents say….

Meanwhile another motorist, Steven Lay of Eagle, stopped to help Milo and called 911.

It appears that neither the perpetrator nor the victim is British, so it’s kind of curious why the Daily Mail covered this.  Or maybe more curious why only one paper in North America did.

ht Naked Capitalism

Medallion prices now posted by Chicago Dispatcher

Now that Chicago Dispatcher is posting Chicago taxi medallion sales prices in a defined area of their web site, it may no longer be useful to post any of them here. (Chicago Dispatcher’s print edition was the source for all recent reports I posted, but posting of the information on the web wasn’t consistent.) They continue to calculate an “average” monthly price; unfortunately it seems to be a mean or mode, not a median. At last report (pdf), this figure was $183,000, indicating little change in recent months.

Let’s you and him pay to maintain my land value

Chicago Metropolis 2020 has issued a new report about Illinois transportation. (Right now, the report is on their front page; I don’t see a permanent link.)  Their stated objectives are things I support, including better and more attractive public transportation as well as a more efficient freight system.  They acknowledge that coordination and planning need to be improved, and that good transportation is an important component of a strong economy.

They also point out that much of the current system is in bad shape, and that billions of dollars would be required to bring it up to a reasonable standard.  They quote estimates of $45 billion over ten years to refurbish and expand Chicagoland public transportation, and $171 billion over 30 years for transit and highways statewide. They propose to pay for this using an increased motor fuel tax, increased and more market-sensitive tolling, and innovative financing techniques (about which more is below).  They do not claim that these sources would be fully adequate to the “need.” (My own opinion of fuel taxes is that, yes, they ought to be increased, but whatever amount is raised should be devoted to the budget of the military, who spend a lot of money attempting to maintain petroleum supplies. ) Continue reading Let’s you and him pay to maintain my land value

Have medallion prices peaked?

When last reviewed here, prices for Chicago taxi medallions had risen to an average of $185,000.  Prices have since peaked at $202,000, but now are below that previous level.  The March Chicago Dispatcher printed edition includes an ad offering to pay medallion owners $750/month, which implies almost 5% ROI if prices stabilize.

Month                Price               Source
February ’10      $183,000        Chicago Dispatcher
January ’10        $184,000        Chicago Dispatcher
December ’09    $202,000       Chicago Dispatcher
October ‘09       $185,000       City of Chicago
May ‘09             $170,000       Chicago Dispatcher
April ‘09            $164,500        Chicago Dispatcher
March ‘09           $165,000        Chicago Dispatcher
February ‘09      $158,000        Chicago Dispatcher
Feb ‘07               $  77,000        Chicago Tribune
2004                   >$40,000       Chicago Tribune
1991                     $28,000         Chicago Sun Times

Eventually the City of Chicago may post more recent information here (scroll down to “Taxicab Medallion Transfer Price List” for the pdf report.)

Car price trends

I don’t have a car, don’t want one, can’t afford one, always figured they are just way too expensive for intelligent folks to waste money on.  But someone close to me has “always” had a car, and when her twelve-year-old one became less reliable and more expensive to maintain, decided to get a new one.  Same make, essentially the same model, a Toyota Sienna van.  Of course, over twelve years there were some changes, mostly improvements and extra features (power doors, stability control).  To me, the amazing part was:

  • Cost of new car in 1998: $27,370
  • Cost of new car in 2010: $27,133

The above are current dollars, include all taxes and invented fees, and were the result of negotiation by an informed customer. . Now, in 1998 this was a new model, they were hard to get.  By 2010, production was more in line with demand, inventories at local dealers were limited but there was some choice of color.  The 2010 price was net of a $1,000 rebate, which of course is just Toyota’s way of cutting prices temporarily..

It turns out that this does reflects the general state of the auto industry:  Our friends at the Bureau of Labor Statistics say that car prices in November (the latest available) were 2.8% below the 1999 annual average (Earlier figures apparently aren’t available on weekends.)

Of course, auto manufacturers have a big investment sunk into their plants, and prefer to lose a bit of money to keep them active, rather than taking a bigger hit by closing them down.

It would be interesting to compare these figures to the cost of transit rolling stock.

More bad news on seating

We have known for years that the new CTA railcars would have longitudinal seating.  Not particularly comfortable, but allegedly provides more standing room, and more wheelchair space.  A few new cars are now on the property and undergoing testing, so now we know that:

  • the new seats are the  regular substandard width, contoured kind, probably the least comfortable for bench seats;
  • the design fails to efficiently use even the limited space available.

Regarding the latter point, if there is, say, an extra six inches in the space occupied by a row of, say, five seats, it is physically possible to space them an extra 1.5″ apart, providing a bit more space.  In fact, some CTA buses implement this concept on the rear bench.  But not the railcars.  The first pic illustrates this.
making a bad situation worse

One wonders what is expected to happen in the several extra inches at the end of the car.

Below are a couple more pics. These were taken yesterday at Howard, where a test train paused briefly at the platform. Sorry about the poor quality (of the images); they were taken thru thehigh-reflectivity glass used on these cars.

what your tax money buys
your tax dollars

Even if they operate well (of which there is no guarantee), it is evident that these are the most uncomfortable cars yet.  Unfortunately, the same has been said about every car order since at least 1972, and it is all too likely that captive riders will become accustomed, and the few noncaptives will depart.  (Or be made captive by decreasing incomes and increasing parking costs).

Speculating in cab medallions

Prices below are medians (2009), and “average” for earlier years.

Month                Price               Source

October ’09        $185,000       City of Chicago
May ‘09             $170,000       Chicago Dispatcher
April ‘09            $164,500        Chicago Dispatcher
March ‘09           $165,000        Chicago Dispatcher
February ‘09      $158,000        Chicago Dispatcher
Feb ‘07               $  77,000        Chicago Tribune
2004                   >$40,000       Chicago Tribune
1991                     $28,000         Chicago Sun Times

The October list includes two sales at $190,000.

As medallion prices rise despite a sagging economy, this seems to me to indicate that fares are already too high and should be reduced, which would allow medallion prices to fall and, in theory, drivers would be unaffected while passengers benefit.

But Chicago Dispatcher publisher George Lutfallah sees it differently.  Due to difficult conditions in the taxi industry, individual medallion owners are selling their medallions to big owners– the taxi equivalent of land speculators. Lutfallah sees this as a bad thing, “a taxi driver who owns his or her own cab is more likely to take better care of both the vehicle and the customer.”  He therefore recommends a fare increase.  (source: print edition of Chicago Dispatcher October ’09)

Easier TIF qualification

Now you don’t need to even pretend that your TIF area is dilapidated. Just propose a STAR Line station within a half mile, get the Board to approve, and you can divert tax dollars pretty much for whatever you want. Thanks to ILAPA’s Sharon Caddigan for the alert.  Of course, an openly-administered TIF process might be appropriate for development near any transit station, provided that the funds raised are used to actually provide service at the station.