Sound Transit’s $54 billion price tag, in perspective

According to the Washington Policy Center, Sound Transit has attempted to pass a classic marketing trick on voters, to “get consumers to think they are getting a great deal on an overpriced product they would otherwise never buy.”

Only, the trick hasn’t worked out so well for the transit agency.

Last month, Sound Transit Board members approved a new timeline for the ST3 plans. The new ST3 claims it would complete light rail extensions two to five years sooner at eight locations.

Here’s the kicker: Sound Transit wants $4 billion dollars more for its troubles. The Washington Policy Center:

“Another way of looking at it is that Sound Transit is promising to deliver ST3 projects to taxpayers 23 years from now for $4 billion more, which seems like an awful lot for a 7.4% spending increase.

“It is like the famous decoy effect in marketing; get consumers to think they are getting a great deal on an overpriced product they would otherwise never buy. So in terms of time, if a company promises to deliver a service 125 years from now and then changes their plan and announces they will deliver the service 25 years sooner, it sounds favorable – until you realize it is still a century away.”

Sound Transit’s strategy is clear; it plans to tout the “improved” timeline in order to distract from the now even-higher $54 billion price tag. But, the transit agency can’t escape the reality of the hefty bill it is asking hardworking families to cover.

Sound Transit’s justifications sound weak when the $54 billion price tag is put into perspective. Again, via the Washington Policy Center:

• For $54 billion, we could educate every child in the Seattle Public School District for seven years.
• The Seattle Monorail was killed because of its $11 billion dollar price tag, which is only 20% of what Sound Transit wants to collect in new taxes.
• $54 billion is more than the entire budgets of 78% of the world’s countries.
• Sound Transit’s added premium of $4 billion is more than the entire budgets of half the world’s countries.

Sound Transit asks voters for quite a lot — it always has. Frustratingly, Sound Transit also doesn’t deliver on a whole lot — it never has.