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Re: ENOUGH!!!! Its not a conspiracy
Author: mook
Date: 03-27-2016 - 13:49
I celebrate the recitation of history: facts. What you pointed out are facts. Attribution of those facts to some kind of shifting conspiracy to "take over" everything, or to SP demanding fundamentally flawed designs for BART to avoid competition that they had already determined didn't matter (because it didn't pay to carry passengers) is taking it a bit beyond facts.
Attribution of some design features that have proven less than robust to conspiracy is also not justifiable. The fact that the consultants designing the system used them can easily be attributed to a desire (if not direction by BART Board/staff, and certainly the Feds) to try Something Completely Different (aerospace orientation rather than railroad); some of that worked, some didn't, and some just isn't lasting as long as people might have hoped (though even with rebuilds having nearly 50-year-old cars still in service is unusual among transit systems - maybe Rohr did something right, or at least Alsthom when they rebuilt things). Don't attribute to malice what can be easily explained by something simpler.
Yes, Dumbarton money was moved to cover some BART overruns. Again, a fact that doesn't need a conspiracy to explain it. The original sources of funding were tapped out, and something was needed to finish the job; the Dumbarton work was moving slowly if at all so it was fair game. Assuming promises were made to backfill the funding that were not kept later, that's a political issue that needs to be taken up with MTC, if they ever get full funding for the regional transportation program again.
Attribution of some design features that have proven less than robust to conspiracy is also not justifiable. The fact that the consultants designing the system used them can easily be attributed to a desire (if not direction by BART Board/staff, and certainly the Feds) to try Something Completely Different (aerospace orientation rather than railroad); some of that worked, some didn't, and some just isn't lasting as long as people might have hoped (though even with rebuilds having nearly 50-year-old cars still in service is unusual among transit systems - maybe Rohr did something right, or at least Alsthom when they rebuilt things). Don't attribute to malice what can be easily explained by something simpler.
Yes, Dumbarton money was moved to cover some BART overruns. Again, a fact that doesn't need a conspiracy to explain it. The original sources of funding were tapped out, and something was needed to finish the job; the Dumbarton work was moving slowly if at all so it was fair game. Assuming promises were made to backfill the funding that were not kept later, that's a political issue that needs to be taken up with MTC, if they ever get full funding for the regional transportation program again.
