Wow. I bet the people who write editorials at the Post-Gazette hate Lexis-Nexis sometimes. Because here is the entirely facile and condescending editorial "aside" that they wrote about the Pittsburgh water taxi on May 29 of last year (emphasis mine):
YOU DON'T HAVE to be a lottery or Jeopardy winner, or otherwise be wealthy enough to own a boat, to get out and have fun on Pittsburgh's rivers, which are the reason for the city's existence and should be its pride and joy. You can take a water taxi this weekend, the start of 15 weeks of summer service on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays courtesy of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission, which has contracted with a private company to provide the boat. Last year, the commission ran a pilot project and 900 people rode the water taxis, a figure that will surely grow as word gets out. The shuttle will have five stops -- Station Square, the Point, PNC Park, Heinz Field/Carnegie Science Center and the David L. Convention Center -- and is being funded by a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Those who live in deep ideological burrows (not groundhogs) may deplore tax dollars going for such a purpose but there's nothing wrong with a little government help to enhance the appeal of our three rivers. It's a natural.
Really? Well, if by "natural" they meant completely unsustainable then I susppose they were correct. Because here is what the same paper is reporting today:
Last year, the Port of Pittsburgh spent about $300,000 to operate the water taxi for 12 weekends, starting Fridays, as well as for some special events. It provided 6,600 rides, but it generated only about $25,000 in fares, with the federal government reimbursing 80 percent of the losses.
... The water taxi, or river shuttle, was inaugurated in the fall of 2004, showing little success. While ridership grew slightly last year, Friday and non-event weekends were slow, which is why they're being dropped this season.
So who is "living in a deep ideological burrow" now? Wait... Let me...
It's the Post-Gazette. The newspaper that has supported just about every top-down economic development scheme floated by politicians over the past 60 years, despite the fact that one after another after another after another after another has failed to work. You can say that Gateway Center is nice all you want. But that and other projects have seen half the population leave the city.
Now, quick... Guess who supports the PNC skyscraper project? And the arena scheme? And guess who is going to accuse everyone who opposes them of being a political troglodyte?
Yep.
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