Due to the raw political power of the "highway lobby" highway spending in California in the new budget will remain intact while transit funding will be severely cut. Need I say more?

Talk to Golden Gate Transit about adding more commute buses and they will clue you in right away about what's happened over the years to the Sonoma-SF commute. I did that commute for over 30 years and I assure there used to be twice as many commuters as there are now.

Ferry boats are labor intensive, fuel intensive, and maintenance intensive. They require greater subsidy than other modes of transit. Why do you think most had disappeared by 1941 and all by 1958? The prohibitive cost of new boats plus the the likelihood of continued high fuel prices guarantee the ferry boat operations will become even more expensive vis-a- vis surface transit modes. Ferry fares will rise faster than those of other modes, absent a greater level of subsidy.

SMART, if built, will also require a higher than promised level of subsidy. Sonoma County bus riders will squeal when their service is cut to keep a couple trains running in Marin.