The Cost of Commuting

Here's a hypothetical situation involving a not so hypothetical radio newsman who happens to live about a mile from the would-be light rail corridor in Virginia Beach.  Let's say Virginia Beach does build a light rail system and let's also assume that a station is built within cycling distance of my house, near BJ's Wholesale Club.  And we'll assume that I work in Downtown Norfolk.  According to Google Maps, that's a distance of about 12 miles, or 24 miles round trip.

As both of my cars, a 15 year old compact and a five year old minivan, each get around 22mph, that would cost me one gallon of gas each time I make that commute by car.  By the current price of gasoline, that's $3.50 in gas every day, and that's only assuming there are no traffic backups along my route.

A one-way fare on The Tide costs $1.50 right now.  With a round trip costing $3.00, that would save me money in this hypothetical situation.  Yes, we can assume that light rail fares will go up in the future, but we all know that the price of gasoline, cars and car insurance will also be increasing.

Obviously, this scenario doesn't apply to everyone, particularly those who live in Great Neck or Pungo.  But for those who live near Virginia Beach Boulevard, commuting into Downtown Norfolk by light rail could be a viable option.

The controversy over whether to bring light rail into Virginia Beach reminds of another huge project that the City of Norfolk paid for with a lot of taxpayer dollars some years ago.  At the official ground breaking ceremony for MacArthur Center Mall in the late 1990's, a remember a few other reporters grousing about the expenditure of public money on such a big project.  I, myself, joked at the time that MacArthur Center could become the world's largest homeless shelter if things didn't work out.

Today, MacArthur Center is thriving.  It's become the focal point for Norfolk's other efforts to revitalize the Downtown area.  Whether Norfolk's Tide is as successful as MacArthur Center will, to borrow an overused newsman expression, "remain to be seen."