Sound Transit – the tax-gobbling three-county light rail agency based in Seattle – has many friends, particularly those in the construction and engineering sector that make big money off of the big-money projects covered by our tax dollars. However, anything (or anybody) that might highlight the truth about wasting billions building a fixed-route train system in the Puget Sound area certainly qualifies as an enemy.
So, today, the Ford Motor Company is the enemy for the light-rail bureaucrats, after the announcement that the company “intends to have a fully driverless vehicle — no steering wheel, no pedals — on the road within five years. The car will initially be used for commercial ride-hailing or ride-sharing services; sales to consumers will come later.”
The advances in automotive technology – from less expensive electric cars, to automated driving vehicles – threaten Sound Transit because they provide additional options to commuters, and provide the promise of expanding the capacity of existing roadways without new construction.
So, just as Sound Transit officials were sorry to see stories about a Democrat leader questioning their $54 billion finance plan and citizen activists pointing out their environmentally destructive plans, now they have to try and explain away how technology can make their very expensive train tracks obsolete long before they will allegedly be completed 25 years from now.
