Light rail opposition’s claims not all true

THE MEDIA: Web

WHO SAID IT: Building a Better Phoenix, a political action committee supporting Proposition 105

THE COMMENT: “Light rail is expensive! It costs over $140 million dollars per mile to build and consumes 40% of the Phoenix transportation budget.” THE FORUM: Building a Better Phoenix’s website. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT: Does the light rail cost over $140 million per mile to build? And does it absorb 40% of the city’s transportation budget?

OUR RATING: Claim 1: “(The light rail) costs over $140 million dollars per mile to build.” Two stars: Somewhat true/somewhat false.

Claim 2: “(The light rail) consumes 40% of the Phoenix transportation budget.” No stars: Misleading.

ANALYSIS: In late August, Phoenix voters will decide the fate of two propositions that could effect longlasting change in the city.

Prop 106 would enact measures aimed at minimizing Phoenix’s pension debt, while Prop 105 would end the extension of the light rail.

The group Building a Better Phoenix supports Prop 105, which will be decided on Aug. 27. Early ballots should have already arrived in voters’ mailboxes.

The anti-light rail initiative started as a protest of a light rail extension in south Phoenix that would reduce Central Avenue to two lanes. However, if Prop. 105 passes, it would end all future expansions of the light rail across Phoenix.

The initiative would divert funds away from light rail and toward other forms of transportation infrastructure, like roads and buses.

Building a Better Phoenix has long contended that taxpayer dollars put into the expansion of the light rail could instead help improve Phoenix roads.

In 2015, Phoenix voters approved Proposition 104, a sales tax that became the main source of funding for the city’s Transportation 2050 plan. Revenue from the tax continues to fund the $31.5 billion initiative to improve transit infrastructure and expand light rail.

If Prop. 105 passes, this sales tax revenue would be diverted to other projects.

Building a Better Phoenix has published several statements on their website and in flyers sent to Phoenix voters about what they view as the faults of the light rail. These are two of those claims.

1. Light rail’s cost per mile in Phoenix

The anti-light rail campaign has maintained that the light rail costs more than $140 million per mile to build.

The group provided AZ Fact Check with the reasoning behind their claim and said the number actually has increased.

“The $140 million per mile is actually out of date since recent documents revealed that the cost for the South Phoenix project has exploded to $1.35 billion, three times the cost that was promised in 2015,” a spokesperson for the group said in an email.

“Now the cost of the south Phoenix line is $245 million per mile, and they haven’t even started construction yet.”

The recent documents the group refers to are city records outlining the cost of the South Central light rail extension, which has a total capital cost of $1.35 billion for 5.5 miles of construction, or, about $245 million per mile.

While Building a Better Phoenix is correct in the math of the cost per mile using those two figures, this only applies to construction of the South Central extension. Prop. 105 would halt all future light rail extensions, and the group’s claim doesn’t refer to a specific portion of the light rail line.

Construction of ‘Downtown Hub’ raises costs

Opponents of the light rail point to its escalating cost, but Valley Metro officials argue the price of the extension is justified.

Valley Metro CEO Scott Smith told The Arizona Republic in an article published in late July that the project is “not just the south-central extension anymore.”

The light rail expansion, referred to as the “Downtown Hub,” is projected to create three new stations and a transfer area near CityScape.

The most recent $1.35 billion cost estimate accounts for the Downtown Hub, but also includes about $350 million in contingency funds, according to the Federal Transit Administration’s risk assessment. If the funds go unused, they will be refunded to the city.

Light rail cost depends on location

Valley Metro says even though the cost of the light rail seems high relative to other methods of transportation, its life cycle and operating costs counteract its hefty price tag.

“The light rail is a multi-generational investment that will be in service for 40-50 years or longer,” Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said in an email. “A light rail car life expectancy is at least 30 years. By comparison, a bus is expected to last 10-12 years.”

While Building a Better Phoenix highlights the price of the South Central extension, in reality, the per-mile cost of building the light rail largely depends on the location where those miles are constructed.

“There is no uniform number that defines the cost of building a mile of light rail,” Tierney said. “The cost per mile varies greatly by project depending upon federal government requirements, geography, work conditions, real estate and materials costs, existing utility locations, scope of project and other conditions.”

The 20-mile light rail starter line was $1.4 billion, meaning initial construction of the light rail cost $70 million per mile.

The Central Mesa extension ran at about $64 million per mile, while the 3.2-mile Northwest light rail extension cost $102 million per mile, according to Valley Metro data.

According to Tierney, more than half of the budget of the light rail system is spent on non-rail improvements, such as the extra construction required to build the Downtown Hub.

Tierney explained the South Central extension will result in the complete rebuilding of Central Avenue.

“This rebuild will include new street pavement, curb, gutters, sidewalks, traffic signals, streetlights and landscaping, while also replacing most of the underground utilities, thus bringing needed investment and long-term reliability to the infrastructure along this corridor,” Tierney said.

2. How the transportation budget is divided

Building a Better Phoenix claims the light rail consumes 40% of the city’s transportation budget.

The anti-light rail group said this number is “based on the amount in Prop 104 tax that was allocated to

ward light rail.”

The Prop 104 tax approved by voters in 2015 raised the sales tax from 0.4% to 0.7% to fund the Transportation 2050 plan — an initiative aimed at improving transit infrastructure. Out of the total funds, 35% of the sales tax revenue goes to the light rail.

This 35% only applies to funding for the Transportation 2050 plan. While the plan is comprehensive, it doesn’t account for all of Phoenix’s transportation projects and council-approved changes.

The city’s transportation budget is about $676 million and includes street transportation, aviation and public transit.

The light rail is funded by transportation 2050 sales tax funds, and according the city’s budget, about $206 million of these funds go to public transit.

That means less than 30% of the city’s transportation budget goes toward the light rail, considering public transit accounts for many forms of transportation, such as buses and shuttles.

Not only is Building a Better Phoenix’s 40% figure inaccurate, but the group applies it to only a partial slice of all transportation spending.

BOTTOM LINE: Although the cost of constructing the South Central rail extension comes out to $245 million per mile, this figure includes the cost of building the Downtown Hub, and it doesn’t apply to all light rail construction. There also is a significant contingency fund as part of the hefty budget of the South Central light rail extension, and past light rail projects prove that cost per mile varies by location.

While 35% of the Prop 104 tax voters approved in 2015 is allocated to the light rail, this percentage is less than what light rail opponents claim. Additionally, that percentage drops further when you look at the city of Phoenix’s entire transportation budget.