The Oct. 27 Miami Herald editorial, Fund Tri-Rail, jump start bullet train, observes that it cost $256 million to double track Tri-Rail.

The editorial further states the current ridership of the system is 14,000 boardings for a weekday. Assuming 7,000 people make a daily round trip, then purchasing each person a $20,000 car would only cost $140 million, with the advantage that the car owners would pay operating and maintenance costs for their own vehicles.

Tri-Rail is an alternative transportation system and is not an economically beneficial program because the public subsidy outweighs alleged benefits.

The only way a heavy-rail mass-transit system is advantageous to Floridians is if the federal government funds the operating and maintenance deficits for Tri-Rail, Metrorail and any proposed bullet train.

MICHAEL R. DRENNAN, Miami

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