Letters, Feb 10
9/02/2010 4:06:00 p.m.
Public transport
Demetrius Christoforou calls my statements on Public Transport inefficiency and subsidies, “outrageous”. If he wants “outrage”, he could start listening to ratepayers like Bernie Harris who also has a letter on the same page as his. Mr Harris is one of few hundred billion English-speaking ratepayers worldwide who have had a gutsful of councils forever increasing spending, and rates demands, well ahead of the rate of inflation. Increases in Public Transport subsidies are responsible for the lion’s share of this. Mr Christoforou asks if I think his favourite cities are stupid enough to install expensive toys. Yes, I do think that their politicians have been stupid and even dishonest. I hope Wellington elects representatives that are not. I concede that over some short historical periods, motorists might be “subsidised” to the tune of a few percent, but certainly not over the long term when petrol taxes are scrutinised. But our RAIL subsidies are in the order of 50-70% of total cost, and few places in the world get the subsidy requirements down to much lower than that. If we could somehow apply real world user-pays charges to everything, rail transit would certainly collapse overnight, while motorists would pay up the few extra percent (if any) and keep driving. Mr Christoforou has the chutzpah to call ME “outrageous”? “... the previously car-mad USA, where they are now ripping up many freeways as a direct result of the success of newly installed rail-based public transport...” Really? We are talking about vehicle miles travelled dropping over the last few years from around 90% of the total to around 87% of the total, while rail based transit went from around 3.5% to around 3.7%. Around 3% of the drop in vehicle miles travelled is shifts to public transport; the rest is simply people not travelling, and unemployed, in a recession. Here is the US Bureau of Transport Statistics url: http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_37.html
Philip G. Hayward, Lower Hutt
Movie review
I too disagree with your reviewer’s comments on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I had read the book first and found that the movie faithfully reproduced (most of) the story and reflected the tone and atmosphere of the book. Along with Andrew Jamieson, I am apprehensive about a possible Hollywood interpretation of the book.
Jonty Ellis, Manakau
The 3rd world
I ask P Hayward (Letters 25 January 2010) why he is so scathing of the undeveloped 3rd world countries when those same countries have supplied we 1st world nations, democratic of course, with gold, silver, copper, oil, timber, slaves, prostitutes, cotton, gems etc and yet remain undeveloped and 3rd world?
RO Hare, Lower Hutt
Demetrius Christoforou calls my statements on Public Transport inefficiency and subsidies, “outrageous”. If he wants “outrage”, he could start listening to ratepayers like Bernie Harris who also has a letter on the same page as his. Mr Harris is one of few hundred billion English-speaking ratepayers worldwide who have had a gutsful of councils forever increasing spending, and rates demands, well ahead of the rate of inflation. Increases in Public Transport subsidies are responsible for the lion’s share of this. Mr Christoforou asks if I think his favourite cities are stupid enough to install expensive toys. Yes, I do think that their politicians have been stupid and even dishonest. I hope Wellington elects representatives that are not. I concede that over some short historical periods, motorists might be “subsidised” to the tune of a few percent, but certainly not over the long term when petrol taxes are scrutinised. But our RAIL subsidies are in the order of 50-70% of total cost, and few places in the world get the subsidy requirements down to much lower than that. If we could somehow apply real world user-pays charges to everything, rail transit would certainly collapse overnight, while motorists would pay up the few extra percent (if any) and keep driving. Mr Christoforou has the chutzpah to call ME “outrageous”? “... the previously car-mad USA, where they are now ripping up many freeways as a direct result of the success of newly installed rail-based public transport...” Really? We are talking about vehicle miles travelled dropping over the last few years from around 90% of the total to around 87% of the total, while rail based transit went from around 3.5% to around 3.7%. Around 3% of the drop in vehicle miles travelled is shifts to public transport; the rest is simply people not travelling, and unemployed, in a recession. Here is the US Bureau of Transport Statistics url: http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_37.html
Philip G. Hayward, Lower Hutt
Movie review
I too disagree with your reviewer’s comments on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I had read the book first and found that the movie faithfully reproduced (most of) the story and reflected the tone and atmosphere of the book. Along with Andrew Jamieson, I am apprehensive about a possible Hollywood interpretation of the book.
Jonty Ellis, Manakau
The 3rd world
I ask P Hayward (Letters 25 January 2010) why he is so scathing of the undeveloped 3rd world countries when those same countries have supplied we 1st world nations, democratic of course, with gold, silver, copper, oil, timber, slaves, prostitutes, cotton, gems etc and yet remain undeveloped and 3rd world?
RO Hare, Lower Hutt
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