The annual cost to operate Connecticut's bus-only system is rising as transit planners build out the route beyond its Hartford-to-New Britain corridor.
The $567 million CTfastrak operated with a $17.5 million state subsidy for the first year, $7.5 million more than the $10 million initially projected by the state Department of Transportation.
However, Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said the initial subsidy projection was an estimate set eight years ago and based on a plan that has since changed.
The Hartford Courant reported that the increase was due to added express and feeder services, circulator routes, and updated labor costs, all intended to draw more riders. From the report:
Redeker downplayed the original $10 million subsidy projection as a "rough estimate" set eight years ago and based only on a "conceptual service plan" that later changed dramatically.
But as recently as a February 2014 presentation to the General Assembly's transportation committee, Redeker was quoting the $10 million figure with no caveats or disclaimers.
Last Wednesday, Courant reporter Matthew Kauffman appeared on WNPR'sWhere We Live to discuss CTfastrak's published ridership numbers. He asked the DOT for hourly ridership numbers, and wanted to know how crowded the buses are during rush hour. He also asked if fewer drivers are using the highways.
But Kauffman said the state department did not provide those figures.
"The busway never should have been sold as a congestion mitigation project anyway, despite quotes where [the state] said: this is the best congestion mitigation project we can put forward there," he said.
Learn more details about CTfastrak's ridership numbers from Kauffman's interview on Where We Live below:
Critics say the half-billion dollar cost is excessive and could have financed other transportation projects. Construction and other startup costs were financed mostly by the federal government.
Leyda Quast is an intern at WNPR. This report includes information from The Associated Press.