Public Transporation Ridership Plummeting In Southern California Despite Billions Being Spent -- January 27, 2016

The issue of decreased ridership on public transportation in Arizona despite billions being spent has been a "frequent" topic over at The Coyote Blog which I link at the sidebar at the right as one of my favorite blogs.  It was interesting, to me, then that this article appeared in the Los Angeles Time today: billions spent, but fewer people are using public transportation in Southern California. Why does this not surprise me? The story is here:

For almost a decade, transit ridership has declined across Southern California despite enormous and costly efforts by top transportation officials to entice people out of their cars and onto buses and trains.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the region's largest carrier, lost more than 10% of its boardings from 2006 to 2015, a decline that appears to be accelerating.

Most other agencies fare no better. In Orange County, bus ridership plummeted 30% in the last seven years, while some smaller bus operators across the region have experienced declines approaching 25%. In the last two years alone, a Metro study found that 16 transit providers in Los Angeles County saw average quarterly declines of 4% to 5%.

Why does this not surprise me? The same phenomenon has apparently been noted in Arizona. See update at The Coyote Blog (at my post) or click here for direct link to The Coyote Blog post which I recommend.

And California is looking at spending another $100 billion on a bullet train.  What was Einstein's definition of insanity?

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Facebook Earnings

Facebook shares shot up 12% after the giant social network said it earned 79 cents a share on revenue of $5.84 billion in the fourth quarter, easily topping Wall Street estimates.Facebook topped $5 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, up 52% from a year ago. It was also the first quarter in which Facebook posted more than $1 billion in quarterly net income.

Facebook was expected to report earnings of 68 cents a share, excluding certain expenses, up from 54 cents a year ago, according to S&P Capital IQ. Analysts expected revenue of $5.37 billion. Facebook reported earnings after the close of the market.

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