NewsWhore
10-10-2006, 06:20 PM
Hoy newspaper is reporting that the Puerto Rican Metro loses US$95 million annually; this is according to figures published in the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia. The annual cost of the PR Metro is US$106 million, while revenues only total US$11 million. The paper reports that the US$2 billion project, the most expensive in Puerto Rico's history, consists of a few train cars going back and forth between Santurce and Bayamon, with fewer than 50,000 total riders, far less than the original expectations. The authorities originally estimated that 80,000 people would use the train daily, but studies place this figure at around 20,000. There is no other form of public transport to support the metro, stands haven't been finished, and the metro will always have to be subsidized. The original plans called for a US$1 billion project, but the prices skyrocketed, and took close to ten years to finish. It is 17.2 kilometers in length and has 16 stations. The Santo Domingo metro by comparison will have 16 stations at an estimated cost of US$326.6 million, not including subsidies, stations, maintenance and other hidden costs.
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More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)