Conservatives should like rail

Conservatives should like rail - JSOnline: "A passenger rail system well known to many people in Wisconsin, Chicago's Metra, provides some examples. In DuPage County, one survey showed that more than 15% of commuters with incomes over $75,000 took the train instead of driving. In Lake County, the figure was 13%. In the same counties, less than one-tenth of people with incomes over $75,000 took the bus. In fact, in Lake County, the mean earnings of rail passengers were more than $76,000; the figures for bus riders were less than $14,000. Most strikingly, the mean earnings of the people on the trains were more than double those of people driving to work alone.

These demographics suggest Metra carries lots of passengers who think of themselves as conservatives and usually vote Republican. When conservative governors or other officeholders say 'kill the trains,' they are killing the type of public transport that other conservatives want and use. If they promote buses as a replacement, they are offering something conservatives won't consider."