"An engineering report from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration forecasts that the Purple Line will see 56,100 daily riders by 2035.
Meanwhile, a travel forecast report from the Maryland Transit Administration projects Purple Line ridership at 64,550 by 2030 and 69,300 by 2040. About 5,000 more riders are added in the MTA report if University of Maryland students and special boardings are counted.
An FTA spokesman said Tuesday he was checking on a response.
An MTA official could not be reached for comment.
Robert J. Riker, a Chevy Chase resident who worked as a management engineer for 30 years with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, reviewed the reports and said he believes that even the lower figure by the FTA is significantly high."
Figures lie, and liars figure.
At least there's one number that's sure to be much higher: $2.45 BILLION.
The chances that the Purple Line public-private partnership will be on or below budget are nil. Twenty years ago Montgomery County's executive said that the Silver Spring Transit Center would cost $20 million and be complete in 1998. It's 2015, the Silver Spring Transit Center still isn't finished, and its current cost is more than $140 million!
Kudos to Kevin Shay and gazette.net for their excellent reporting.
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