Follow Marin Events

If anything - SMART is adding to the Climate Emergency !

From the increased Traffic Congestion in San Rafael and Adjacent Freeway spill-over.
( Relative to the miniscule amount of cars, 126, it takes off the HWY101 commute).

Only 2/3 of SMART's Round Trips are at peak, ( 5:45-8:45am and 3:55-7:30pm). Clipper and APP data tells us that WeekDay Roundtrips are only 1,026 . APTA says only 42% of Train Rides come from Displaced Single Occupant Vehicles so its 1,026 x 2/3 x 42% = 287 ex-car riders now commuting by train. The average train journey is 20 miles ( out of the 45.4 miles from Santa Rosa Airport to San Rafael) then the average effect of SMART at any point on HWY101 is 287 x 20/45.4 = 126 So SMART takes only 126 cars off HWY101 ( at all points between Santa Rosa Airport and San Rafael) during the weekday commute. One freeway lane transmits 2,400 cars in one peak hour, 3 lanes is 7,200 and during the 3 hour commute that's 7,200 x 3 = 21,600. So SMART can reduce the commute by (126 / 21,600) that's 0.58% of cars on the freeway!		CO$T, Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers recommendation: MEASURE I: Vote NO SMART ¼-cent sales tax extension through 2059 is too long and too soon. SMART is a mess financially and operationally. SMART now has half the passengers and twice the staff originally promised. SMART has made greenhouse gases worse: cars stuck in SMART-induced traffic in San Rafael spew exhaust and near-empty trains burn diesel. Voting NO is the only way to force a fix. How does SMART compare to other single track Train Systems?
And each RoundTrip is Subsidised $124 . In 2018 we spent $39,254 on each of the 1,067 weekday commuters!! With LARKSPUR and the new Schedule, SMART predicts just 231 more roundtrips. Farebox Revenue:- might go from $4,025,111(in 2018) to about $4.8m Giving : Operating revenues:- $4.8m Operating expenses:- $48m to $54m [ it was $44m in 2018 but this will considerably increase with Larkspur + Windsor + 6 trains vs 4 + four extra trips ] Operating loss:- ($43.2m to $49.2m) [ it was $40m in 2018] Sales Tax Revenue:- was $37m, minus Capital Expense , minus Interest, -- left $30m -- so $13.2m to $19.2m ASSISTANCE ( in addition to Sales Tax) will STILL be required annually to pay off the Operating Loss. Just think what a difference $1 BILLION(the cost of SMART by 2029) could do for Traffic Congestion Relief compared to just taking 126 cars off the HWY101 commute. Making little difference to the 21,600 cars passing thru HWY101 during the 3 hour commute. Yet adding to the congestion when it stops traffic in San Rafael every 16 minutes ! WeekDay Boardings Count if 14 Trains had 3 Cars http://www.marincounty.info/SMART/Latest/SMART_Boardings_per_Day_from_SPREADSHEET2.htm Ridership from Clipper and APP data and calculation of SUBSIDY:- http://www.marincounty.info/SMART/Latest/SMART_Ridership_Weekdays_separate_from_Weekends.htm		In one WeekDay SMART reduces GHG by only 15% AUTOMOBILE mid-size sedan with a combined fuel consumption rate of 6.36 Liters(1.68 gallons) per 100 km (62.13 miles) = 37 miles per gallon. Emitting 2.5 Kg of CO2 Equivalent per Liter of gasoline (Tier 0) So in one WeekDay there would have been 2,052 trips of 20 miles each APTA says only 42% of Train Rides come from Displaced Single Occupant Vehicles so that's 2,052 x 42% x 20 = 17,237 miles by car instead of taking the train That's 17,237 x 6.36 / 62.13 = 1,764 liters That's 1,764 x 2.5 = 4,411 Kg (4.86 tons) of CO2 Equivalent TRAIN Diesel No. 2 Emits 3.00715 Kg of CO2 Equivalent per Liter. (SMART Each two-car train weighs about 149 tons -- Tier 4 engines) if the Train were 24 carriages, then 6 liters of diesel will move it 1 kilometer So with only 2 carriages it moves 12 kms ( 7.45 miles ) with 6 liters ( 1.59 gallons) In one WeekDay There are 34 trains travelling 45.4 miles = 1544 miles that's 1544 x 6/7.45 = 1,243 liters That's 1,243 x 3.00715 = 3,738 Kg (4.12 tons) of CO2 Equivalent per WeekDay That's 4.86 tons of CO2 Equivalent vs 4.12 tons = 15% reduction source

SMART’s Sales Tax Income (FY 2018) = $37.8m ($40 million in 2020 will be $105m in 2059 after Inflation, So between 2020 & 2059 it's an average of $72m/yr or increase of 72/40 = 1.8)
Households in Sonoma: 190,058 Sonoma’s Share ( not Marin) = 63.4% = $23.97m x 1.8 = $43m = 43m/190,058 = $227 per Household in 2018 over 20 years = $4,536 per household over 50 years = $18,900 per household		Households in Marin: 103,882 Marin’s Share ( not Sonoma) = 36.6% = $25m = $239 per Household in 2018 over 20 years = $4,795 per household over 50 years = $16,211 per household
The poor pay over 10% of their income to SALES TAX compared to 5.4% for the rich. = REGRESSIVE

SOURCE:
http://sonomamarintrain.org/RidershipReports
http://sonomamarintrain.org/sites/default/files/Ridership%20Reports/SMART%20Ridership%20Counts%20for%20Web.pdf
http://sonomamarintrain.org/sites/default/files/Ridership%20Reports/January_8_2020_%20Staff%20Report_Ridership.pdf

WEEKDAYS Count from Independent Counting Company:

If we used this Independent Count, ROUNDTRIPS per WEEKDAY would only be 786 !
So this is why we must use counts from CLIPPER + APP

2019 Trips and 2018 SUBSIDY

January 2020 Trips

Questions or problems regarding this web site should be directed to Info@marincounty.info
Last modified: Thursday February 22, 2024.