[bunt_q]

The difference doesn't pan out in ridership or investment, though... if you want an economic explanation, an easy one is the indeced development around transit stations. In most instances, developers are willing to invest around a streetcar - it's a fixed system, it's attractive, and it's a serious investment. I know of no case in the U.S. where equivalent TOD has been a big factor and has really taken off around a bus route.

edit: Besides, by the time you make the investment in a BRT corridor and all of the station and streetscape imrovements that go with it, you really are not saving much over a simple streetcar system. We're not talking light rail costs here, it's much cheaper.

What would you invest in union station over a colfax streetcar? I think that would be a terrible trade-off for the city. A colfax streetcar would have higher ridership numbers than any rail line in the entire fastracks system except for maybe the southeast line.

And lower taxes?... there's no source of revenue for a streetcar now - if we do it, it's going to be because we vote specifically for it, in which that argument goes out the window.