The Queasy Rider

Why would any sane Nashvillian support taking lanes of traffic away on Broadway and West End Avenue to dedicate those lanes to mass transit "AMP"? AMP will never have robust ridership with people paying full fares. Some people may give AMP a try if their fares are subsidized by government or their employers (like universities and hospitals may do). Most people though want the freedom of their own schedule. They will want to rely on their own vehicle and not be tied to a bus schedule. Even when gasoline prices were at or near all-time highs, Nashville's Metropolitan Transit Authority did not have high numbers of passengers on buses in the West End corridor. Why would AMP change that? If an AMP-type project was economically viable, entrepreneurs would be fighting to open and control it. AMP will be a drain on public coffers and will only start if it receives massive Federal subsidies. All in all, AMP will slow traffic, cause greater congestion, make it more difficult to shop in businesses on West End Avenue and down Broadway, be a fiscal burden for Nashville property taxpayers, take money away from public schools and emergency services, make it harder for emergency vehicles to navigate the Broadway-West End Avenue corridor, and never pay for itself in the normal course of operation. All the reasons that should disqualify AMP will mean our mendacious politicians will push that much harder to make sure AMP happens.