Ten myths about US urban rail systems by Thomas Rubin, James Moore, and Shin Lee—a rejoinder

Abstract

In January 1999 Transport Policy published a paper by Rubin, Moore, and Lee (Rubin et al., 1999) which uses as its data base statistics from the early 1990s. The paper focuses on the Los Angeles rail program as its prime example of myths perpetuated. In 1993, however, the Los Angeles rail system was composed only of the Blue Line (light rail) then barely three years old. The subway line had just opened 3 of its 17 total miles, and the commuter rail system had just opened one quarter of its network. The authors fail to mention this key information anywhere in their report. At least one of the authors, Mr Rubin, is also a paid and aggressive consultant for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit brought upon the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority which is trying to end the Los Angeles rail program. This also should be noted so that your readers can assess the objectivity of his work. The paragraphs which follow will briefly revisit the myths based on what we know of the Los Angeles rail system. The rail system is even now still growing.