Dear Editor,
After reading about the new train service between Burlington and Rutland and seeing the cost, I began thinking. The cost of taking a taxi from Burlington to Rutland is about $150. For the price of constructing the new rail service, Vermonters could have taken 1.18 million taxi rides between the two cities.
The bus price from Burlington to Rutland is about $20. Vermonters could have taken 8.85 million bus rides between those two cities for the price of the rail line. These numbers consider only the construction cost — not the fare the train charges, which is about the same as the cost of the bus ride.
If the goal is to be environmentally sound, 11,000 Vermont homes could have been equipped with 6 kWh solar panels for the construction cost of the rail line.
The next time money is proposed to be spent, let’s consider alternatives that might be more cost effective and environmentally friendly.
Ellen Forshaw
Concord Township,
Ohio and property owner in Ripton and Lincoln
