State Shifts Train Gears

Albuquerque Tribune

By Shea Andersen

July 13, 2004

To achieve Gov. Bill Richardson's dream of commuter rail, supporters are hoping the federal government will fund day-to-day operations for a few years before the majority of costs are shifted to taxpayers in a three-county area.

"That's one of the top strategies we're talking about," said Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, which is leading the charge for a commuter train in the greater Albuquerque area.

Although start-up funding to build the rail line from Belen to Bernalillo is in place, supporters of the project acknowledge the real key is to find funding sources once the train is running.

One way, Rael said, would be to tap the federal government for a few years in hopes citizens in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia counties would endorse the project - and thus agree to tax increases that would keep the line in operation.

Such a move would be a major shift in focus. At Richardson's urging, New Mexico lawmakers have painstakingly tweaked state laws to allow local governments to levy new tax increases to pay for the rail project.

The reason behind the change in strategy - to seeking federal money first - is simple, supporters say: It's easier to sell people on a tax increase if the thing they're paying for is up and running, rather than on a drafting table.

"We do believe that people will be more willing to tax themselves if they use it," New Mexico Secretary of Transportation Rhonda Faught said.

A study published last week by the Legislative Finance Committee, says state taxpayers ultimately will have to shoulder most of the system's annual costs.

"No public transportation system is completely self-supporting," Rael said. "They're all funded by taxpayers."

Although Richardson wants to see commuter rail services run from Belen all the way to Santa Fe, for now the state is focusing on the 40-mile Belen-to-Bernalillo leg.

That section alone could cost $75 million to start and about $10 million annually to run.

All $75 million of the necessary start-up costs are in hand, Faught said, thanks to state funding initiatives, including sales of bonds.

Operational costs, however, are another matter.

There is no way daily fares can cover the costs, according to the Legislative Finance Committee report.

Just to break even, the report said, the rail line would have to run at 100 percent capacity, 16 trips a day, with each one-way ticket costing $5 a pop.

That scenario is unlikely, according to the report.

A more modest scenario, with lower ridership and lower costs, shows regular riders and ticket buyers would pick up barely 12 percent of the train system's annual costs.

All of which makes a successful sell of the system that much more important in its first few years, Faught said.

"I believe it's absolutely a good deal," Faught said. "I believe very strongly that this is something we need to do."

The benefits, as argued by Richardson, Faught and Rael, include less stress on roads and commuters. The line also could be an attractive sell for companies that consider the Middle Rio Grande Valley as a site for potential relocation.

"It gives people choices," Faught said. "That's a good quality-of-life issue."

But building a regional transit district isn't an overnight process.

"There's a little more to it than meets the eye, than just getting people to agree to it," Faught said.

The new regional districts, and their taxing abilities, are essential, Faught said. Although she has identified specific federal grant programs the state could tap into for funding, "it's not a long-term solution," she said.

The state's estimates show that by raising the gross receipts tax by one-eighth of a cent in Bernalillo, Valencia and Sandoval counties, the regional transit district covering those areas could raise $19 million a year.

But almost all of the money would come from Bernalillo County taxpayers, the Legislative Finance Committee noted. If a vote for higher taxes didn't work out, the system would quickly be short of money.

Rael sees these as obstacles the state can overcome but concedes it won't be an easy sell.

"We're going to have to do a big change in mind-set to get people out of their cars," Rael said. "It's like anything else: Show me what we're going to get out of it."

At least one lawmaker said he's ready to help but hasn't been impressed so far with the state's drive for federal dollars for the project.

Sen. Joe Carraro, a West Side Albuquerque Republican, represents New Mexico to the National Council of State Legislatures, and he regularly deals in the subject of federal grants for transportation. But when he approached the state's planners about federal grants, he was underwhelmed.

"They kind of dropped the ball," Carraro said, noting supporters haven't moved as quickly as he'd like.

If supporters are ready to move forward now, Carraro said he would be encouraged. But he said in the long run, taxpayers will have to buy in.

"It's a very tough sell," Carraro said. "We have so many other needs in this state; it's going to be difficult to sell to anyone."